How I Met Your Father is an American sitcom created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger which premiered on Hulu on January 18, 2022. It is a spin-off to How I Met Your Mother. The series, which stars Hilary Duff, Christopher Lowell, Francia Raisa, Suraj Sharma, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, and Kim Cattrall, follows the main character, Sophie (Hilary Duff), and her group of friends in New York City's Manhattan. As a framing device, Sophie (Kim Cattrall), in the year 2050, recounts to her unseen son the events that followed meeting his father in January 2022, and how they ultimately had him. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. The first season was met with mixed reception, with some criticism being directed at its attempts to capitalize on nostalgia without offering anything new.[1][2]
How I Met Your Father | |
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Genre | Sitcom |
Created by | Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger |
Inspired by | How I Met Your Mother by Carter Bays & Craig Thomas |
Starring | |
Opening theme | "Hey Beautiful" by Lennon Stella |
Composer | Jeff Cardoni |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producer | Hilary Duff |
Cinematography | Gary Baum |
Editor | Sue Federman |
Running time | 22–25 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Hulu |
Release | January 18, 2022 present | –
Cast and characters
Main
- Hilary Duff as Sophie,[3] a hopelessly romantic photographer who is looking for her soulmate. Though believing in true love, she is unaware of her biological father due to her mother having dated random men.
- Chris Lowell as Jesse,[3] an aspiring musician who works as an Uber driver and music teacher, who has become an internet meme after being left by his ex-girlfriend Meredith after a failed marriage proposal. He lives with Sid in Ted, Marshall and Lily's old apartment.
- Francia Raisa as Valentina,[3] an impulsive assistant-stylist who is also Sophie's best friend and roommate and Charlie's love interest
- Suraj Sharma as Sid,[3] Jesse's best friend and roommate who owns a bar. He is engaged to his long-distance girlfriend Hannah, whom he marries at the end of season 1.
- Tom Ainsley as Charlie,[3] a British aristocrat who abandons his inheritance to follow his love interest Valentina to New York after meeting her at London Fashion Week. He later moves in with Ellen and the two become roommates, before being hired by Sid as a bartender.
- Tien Tran as Ellen,[3] Jesse's adoptive sister who moves to New York City to find romance after her divorce from her wife. She owns a produce farm.
- Kim Cattrall as future Sophie, who in the year 2050 tells her son the story of how she met his father
Recurring
- Ashley Reyes as Hannah, Sid's longtime girlfriend whom he gets engaged to in the pilot. She works as a surgeon in Los Angeles, and later elopes with Sid in the season 1 finale after learning that her fellowship has been extended.
- Leighton Meester as Meredith, Jesse's ex-girlfriend who publicly rejected his marriage proposal
- Josh Peck as Drew,[a] the vice principal at the school where Jesse teaches music lessons and Sophie's boyfriend for most of season 1
In addition, Stony Blyden co-stars as Jasper, a bartender at Sid's bar.
Special guest stars
- Michael Barbaro as himself
- Paget Brewster as Lori, Sophie's mother, a notorious party girl who had Sophie when she was young
- Dan Bucatinsky as Fred, Valentina's boss
- Kyle MacLachlan as The Captain
- Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky, a news reporter whom Sophie encounters in the season 1 finale
Notable guest stars
- Daniel Augustin as Ian, Sophie's Tinder date. He is a marine biologist who moves to Australia in the pilot to work at sea; only to return to New York in the season 1 finale when the trip is cut short.
- Laura Bell Bundy as Becky, the Captain's third wife. She leaves him when she discovers him cheating on her.
- Joe Nieves as Carl, a bartender at McLaren's
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | |
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1 | "Pilot" | Pamela Fryman | Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger and Carter Bays & Craig Thomas & Emily Spivey | January 18, 2022 | 1HME01 | |
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2 | "FOMO" | Pamela Fryman | Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger | January 18, 2022 | 1HME02 | |
While Sophie struggles with Ian's departure, Valentina feels smothered by Charlie's constant presence. She invites the others to a brand new club named FOMO in an effort for them to befriend Charlie. Jesse, who has a crush on Sophie, asks her to join him in another room, but she is distracted by Ian's messages. Valentina breaks up with Charlie but regrets her harsh words; when the girls come by to Sid's bar where the guys are bonding, she apologizes to Charlie, who realizes they should start their relationship fresh and that he needs to get his own place. Sophie apologizes to Jesse and they agree to remain friends. | ||||||
3 | "The Fixer" | Kimberly McCullough | Dan Levy | January 25, 2022 | 1HME03 | |
Sophie visits Jesse's workplace to take some photos for his dating profile, inspiring her and Jesse to be each other's wingman at a bar. Although Jesse is successful at talking to a girl, Sophie forces the girl to leave after hearing that the girl is taking advantage of Jesse because of his viral breakup video. On the subway, Sophie confides in Jesse that she was always the fixer to her mom who had numerous failed relationships. Jesse tells Sophie that Drew, his vice principal, is hoping to get her number. Sophie calls Drew and accepts his invitation for a date. Meanwhile, Charlie has begun searching for his own apartment. Ellen turns down his offer to be roommates, but after battling over an apartment they bond and decide to move in together. Sid and Hannah try desperately to keep the romance going even though they are on opposite sides of the country. | ||||||
4 | "Dirrty Thirty" | Pamela Fryman | Amelie Gillette | February 1, 2022 | 1HME04 | |
Sophie and Drew go on a date, where they connect and she invites him to her 30th birthday party. Conscious of his maturity, she changes the theme of the party from Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty" music video to "cocktail party" to try to impress him. When Sophie admits to Drew how jealous she is of his maturity, he tells her she does not need to change for him, and admits he also sometimes feels like he missed out on being young and crazy. Jesse and Ellen try to make up for a lost time as siblings but find they do not really know each other anymore. Jesse apologizes for having missed out on being her big brother and vows to try to make it up to her. Valentina, unsure whether she is ready for commitment, allows Charlie to flirt with other women, but when she gets turned on by this, they decide they are ready for commitment. Sid wears a "man-gagement" ring to show his devotion, but it gets mixed results from the people who attend the party. | ||||||
5 | "The Good Mom" | Morenike Joela Evans | Christopher Encell | February 8, 2022 | 1HME05 | |
Sophie's mother Lori comes to town and invites Sophie out to see her new musician boyfriend Ash. Sophie accepts, backing out of a game night with Drew and his friends. When she finds nothing wrong with Ash, she thinks her mom may have found a good guy, but Valentina sees Lori kissing Ash's manager. Sophie confronts her mother, who reveals she always got bored and her boyfriends were not the problem. Sophie leaves to meet with Drew. Meanwhile, Charlie decides he wants to help people confront their problems, and tries to help Jesse and Sid get over their past traumas. Although he succeeds, he is dismayed to find out how long school is; Sid hires him as a bartender. Ellen meets Rachel, the granddaughter of a deceased neighbor, and lies about knowing her. When Charlie mistakenly tells her the deceased neighbor had no children, she confronts Rachel, who storms out. | ||||||
6 | "Stacey" | Phill Lewis | Donald Diego | February 15, 2022 | 1HME06 | |
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7 | "Rivka Rebel" | Kelly Park | Karen Joseph Adcock & Ria Sardana | February 22, 2022 | 1HME08 | |
Sophie is asked to photograph a bat mitzvah. She brings Valentina as her assistant, but Rivka, an Instagram model, refuses to pose for any photos. She and her friends steal the drugs in Valentina's purse. Sophie and Valentina realize the drugs were fake but use it to get Rivka to pose. The photos impress Rivka's mother, who offers to look at Sophie's best photo. Meanwhile, Jesse and Sid lock themselves in their apartment to work, but procrastinate. Sid reveals he is having trouble planning his wedding because his family is in India, while Jesse laments his lack of songwriting inspiration after Meredith left him. Charlie receives a bad Yelp review, and finds out it was Ellen. She admits her jealousy of his love life and success. To cheer her up, he writes a good review for her. | ||||||
8 | "The Perfect Shot" | Lynda Tarryk | Jeremy Roth | March 1, 2022 | 1HME07 | |
Drew invites the gang to a school auction. Valentina, verbally abused by her boss, steals a purse, but he notices it missing, so Charlie steals it back. When Sophie breaks her tooth, Jesse brings her to a cheap dentist, where she meets many long-unsuccessful artists. She breaks her tooth again when his car breaks down. Jesse tells her how much he likes her photos, and she gets her perfect shot of him working on the car. Drew reveals he offered Jesse his music teacher job full time because he believes Jesse's music is a pipe dream. She asks if he believes in her photography, and he admits that he thinks she needs a stable job. Sophie confides in Jesse about her fight with Drew, and they kiss. Meanwhile, Meredith arrives at the apartment to talk to Jesse, eventually revealing to protective Ellen and Sid that she wrote a new single about Jesse. | ||||||
9 | "Jay Street" | Pamela Fryman | Ama Quao & Ally Thibault | March 8, 2022 | 1HME09 | |
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10 | "Timing Is Everything" | Pamela Fryman | Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger | March 15, 2022 | 1HME10 | |
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Production
Development
Following the production of the 2014 CBS pilot How I Met Your Dad, which did not move forward, on December 14, 2016, it was reported that Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger were set to write a new version of the previous spin-off's pilot, re-titled How I Met Your Father, with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas serving as executive producers.[5] It was later announced that, after signing new contracts with 20th Century Fox Television that would see both Aptaker and Berger being promoted to executive producers and co-showrunners on This Is Us alongside Dan Fogelman, the idea would be put on hold until further notice.
On August 8, 2017, Fox chairman Dana Walden told Deadline Hollywood that 20th Television were attempting a spin-off with different writers, for the third time. Three days following the announcement, Deadline reported that Alison Bennett would write the spin-off, with the same title as the previous attempt with Aptaker and Berger. It was also learned that Bays and Thomas were once again hired as executive producers.[6] This attempt also fell through.[7]
On April 21, 2021, the spin-off series titled How I Met Your Father was given a 10-episode series order by Hulu. Aptaker and Berger will serve as creators, writers, and executive producers while Hilary Duff will serve as a producer. 20th Television is involved with producing the series.[7] On June 24, 2021, Pamela Fryman joined the series as an executive producer and to direct the pilot.[8] The series was released on January 18, 2022.[9] On February 15, 2022, Hulu renewed the series for a 20-episode second season.[10]
Casting
Upon series order announcement, Hilary Duff was cast to star.[11] On June 16, 2021, Chris Lowell joined the cast as the male lead.[12] In August 2021, Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, and Suraj Sharma were cast in starring roles while Brandon Micheal Hall was cast in a recurring role.[13][14] However, a few weeks later, Hall exited the role due to a scheduling conflict and Daniel Augustin was cast to replace Hall.[15] The next day, Josh Peck and Ashley Reyes joined the cast in recurring roles.[4] On November 5, 2021, Kim Cattrall was cast in a recurring role as the future version of Duff's character Sophie.[16] Upon the series premiere, it was reported that Leighton Meester is set to recur.[17] On February 3, 2022, it was announced that Paget Brewster was cast to guest star on the episode,"The Good Mom", which aired on February 8, 2022.[18]
Filming
Principal photography for the series began on August 31, 2021.[19]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 36% approval rating with an average rating of 5/10, based on 42 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "How I Met Your Father takes great pains to update its predecessor's formula for a modern audience, but this stilted retread only amounts to a painful slog."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 48 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[21]
Notes
References
- ^ Wardlow, Ciara (January 19, 2022). "Hulu's How I Met Your Father is Another Hollow Nostalgia Grab". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ Kang, Inkoo (January 17, 2022). "I never thought I'd miss 'How I Met Your Mother.' Then I saw 'How I Met Your Father.'". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "How I Met Your Father - Bios". Hulu Press (Press release). Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (August 31, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Josh Peck & Ashley Reyes To Recur On Hulu's 'HIMYM' Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 14, 2016). "New 'How I Met Your Mother' Dad Spinoff In Works With 'This Is Us' Writing Duo". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 11, 2017). "'How I Met Your Father': Alison Bennett Tapped To Write New 'HIMYM' Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b White, Peter (April 21, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Hulu Hands 'How I Met Your Mother' Spinoff Straight-To-Series Order With Hilary Duff To Star, Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger To Run". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (June 24, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Pam Fryman To Exec Produce, Direct Pilot For Hulu Spinoff Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (November 17, 2021). "How I Met Your Father Gets January Premiere Date on Hulu — Watch Video". TVLine. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy (February 15, 2022). "'How I Met Your Father' Renewed For Season 2 At Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ Gonzalez, Sandra (April 21, 2021). "Hilary Duff to star in 'How I Met Your Mother' sequel for Hulu". CNN. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (June 16, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Chris Lowell Joins Hilary Duff In Hulu's 'How I Met Your Mother' Spinoff Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 10, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran & Suraj Sharma Join Hulu's 'How I Met Your Mother' Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (August 13, 2021). "HIMYF Stages God Friended Me Reunion, Adds Brandon Micheal Hall in Recurring Role — See First Cast Photo". TVLine. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ Petski, Denise (August 30, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Daniel Augustin Joins Hulu's 'How I Met Your Mother' Spinoff In Recasting". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
- ^ Cordero, Rosy (November 5, 2021). "'How I Met Your Father': Kim Cattrall Joins Hulu's 'HIMYM' Spinoff". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (January 17, 2022). "How I Met Your Father: Yes, That Was Leighton Meester in the Series Premiere". TVLine. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (February 3, 2022). "How I Met Your Father: Paget Brewster Cast as Sophie's Mom — First Look". TVLine. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (September 1, 2021). "Does First How I Met Your Father Photo Rule Out Another Tie to HIMYM?". TVLine. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
- ^ "How I Met Your Father: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
- ^ "How I Met Your Father: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2022.