How I Met Your Father

How I Met Your Father
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger
Inspired by	How I Met Your Mother by Carter Bays & Craig Thomas
Starring	Hilary Duff Christopher Lowell Francia Raisa Suraj Sharma Tom Ainsley Tien Tran Kim Cattrall
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	Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger Carter Bays & Craig Thomas Pamela Fryman Adam Londy
Producer	Hilary Duff
Cinematography	Gary Baum
Editor	Sue Federman
Running time	22–25 minutes
Production companies	Bays Thomas Productions The Walk-Up Company 20th Television
Distributor	Disney Platform Distribution
Release
Original network	Hulu
Original release	January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18) – present (present)

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 standalone sequel 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.

Cast and characters[]

Main[]

• Hilary Duff as Sophie Thompkins, 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, 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, an impulsive assistant-stylist who is also Sophie's best friend and roommate and Charlie's love interest
• Suraj Sharma as Sid, Jesse's best friend and roommate who owns a bar. He's engaged to his long-distance girlfriend Hannah.
• Tom Ainsley as Charlie, 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, 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.
• 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

In addition, Stony Blyden co-stars as Jasper, a bartender at Sid's bar.

• Daniel Augustin as Ian, Sophie's Tinder date. He's a marine biologist who moves to Australia and returns after he loses his job due to the divorce of The Captain and Becky.

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
• Laura Bell Bundy as Becky
• Joe Nieves as Carl

Episodes[]

How I Met Your Father episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
1	"Pilot"	Pamela Fryman	Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger and Carter Bays & Craig Thomas & Emily Spivey	January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18)	1HME01
In 2022, after being on numerous failed Tinder dates, Sophie believes she's finally found the one. Sophie met Uber driver Jesse, and his friend, Sid, who's about to propose to his girlfriend. When Sophie finally meets Ian he reveals he's moving to Australia and just wanted to meet her before he goes. Sophie dishes to her roommate Valentina, who is not alone, much to Sophie's surprise. A handsome, naked British man named Charlie now lives with them. Charlie has moved across the world to be with Valentina, which convinces Sophie to give Ian another shot, but realizes that during the Uber ride she somehow swapped phones with Sid. They meet up at the bar where Sid's friends are gathered to surprise his soon-to-be fiancé. They meet Ellen, Jesse's recently divorced sister from Iowa. Sophie tells Jesse her plan to walk the Brooklyn Bridge once she meets her soulmate. At the Airport Sophie gives Ian a heartfelt romantic speech. Realizing she can't wait, Sophie decides to walk the bridge. Future Sophie reveals that very night she met the love of her life. The newly formed gang decides to have drinks at Jesse and Sid's place, to be revealed as Ted and Marshall's old place. Note: This episode was dedicated to Bob Saget.
2	"FOMO"	Pamela Fryman	Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger	January 18, 2022 (2022-01-18)	1HME02
While Sophie struggles with her short-lived 'relationship' with Ian, Valentina feels smothered by Charlie's constant presence. Sophie invites others to a brand new club named FOMO, thinking that the latter and Sid will become friends, however, Ellen tries to find a new girlfriend. Charlie bonds with Valentina breaks up with him but the moment is short-lived when the girls come by to Sid's bar and he accepts, but realizes they should start their relationship and that he needs to get his own Sophie to clarify her intentions with Jesse and remain friends.
3	"The Fixer"	Kimberly McCullough	Dan Levy	January 25, 2022 (2022-01-25)	1HME03
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Jesse is in need of a new profile pic for his online dating profile. Sophie promises to go to Jesse's work at his lunch break to take some photos. Meanwhile, following the events of the previous episode, Charlie has begun searching for his own apartment so Valentina can feel independent from him. When he finds Ellen is also looking for her own apartment, he offers to be her roommate, but she refuses. Sid gets a special delivery in the mail from Hannah to spice up their long-distance relationship. Charlie battles Ellen for the best apartment, but both fail miserably, later deciding to become roommates to face the world together. Success with the photos has inspired Sophie and Jesse to try and help each other out by meeting people at a bar. While Jesse is successful at talking to a girl, Sophie is dismayed to hear that the girl is taking advantage of Jesse because of his viral breakup video, and Sophie forces the girl to leave. Sid and Hannah try desperately to keep the romance going even though they are on opposite sides of the country. 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, was hoping to get her number. Meanwhile, Sid arrives at Hannah's door to apologize for ruining their special night. Sophie calls Drew and accepts his invitation for a date.
4	"Dirrty Thirty"	Pamela Fryman	Amelie Gillette	February 1, 2022 (2022-02-01)	1HME04
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Sophie and Drew go on a date, where she is impressed by how mature he is and invites her to her 30th birthday party. When she realizes she isn't as mature as he is, she changes the theme of the party from "Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty music video" to "cocktail party" to try to impress him. During the party, she tries to talk to him, but it becomes more obvious they are at different points in life. Sid wears a man-gagement ring to show his devotion, but it gets mixed results from the people who attend the party. Jesse and Ellen try to make up for a lost time as siblings but find they don't really know each other anymore. When Ellen leaves, 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. After catching Charlie and Valentina in the shower, Sophie and Drew talk on the roof. She admits she changed the theme to try to impress him, as he is so mature. Drew tells her she doesn't need to change for him, and admits, while he does seem to have life figured out, he also sometimes feels like he missed out on being young and crazy, and they decide to continue their relationship.
5	"The Good Mom"	Morenike Joela Evans	Christopher Encell	February 8, 2022 (2022-02-08)	1HME05
Sophie's mother Lori comes to town and reveals she is seeing a musician in a band and invites Sophie out to see it. Sophie accepts, canceling a date with Drew where she would meet his friends to do so. When she finds nothing wrong with her mom's date, she thinks her mom may have found the right guy, only for Valentina to inform her she saw Lori kissing the musician's manager. Sophie confronts her mother, who reveals she was the reason all her relationships failed before. Having gained some insight into her own past, Sophie leaves to meet with Drew. Meanwhile, Charlie, attempting to find a job, decides he wants to help people confront their problems, and tries to help Jesse and Sid get over their past traumas. When he succeeds, he wonders if there is a job where he can get paid to do so without needing years of schooling. Sid hires him to work at his bar. Ellen meets Rachel, the granddaughter of a deceased neighbor, and attempts to form a relationship by lying about knowing her. When Charlie tells her the deceased neighbor had no children, she confronts Rachel, only for Charlie to realize he mistook their neighbor for another neighbor. Despite this, Ellen vows not to give up.
6	"Stacey"	Phill Lewis	Donald Diego	February 15, 2022 (2022-02-15)	1HME06
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Sid and Hannah invite Drew and Sophie on a weekend getaway to the countryside. When they get to their hotel, Sophie finds out that Drew has been to that hotel with his ex-girlfriend Stacey, though he claims he has never been there. Over dinner, Sid reveals he dropped out of medical school to buy and operate the bar. After dinner, Hannah confronts Sid for having made such a big life decision without consulting her, while Sophie sends evidence of Drew's lie to Valentina, only to accidentally send it to Stacey, causing Stacey to inform Drew. Sid and Sophie talk about how they have screwed up, and Sid admits that after having spent his entire life making other people happy, he wanted to do something for himself for once, while Sophie admits that she has never been in a real relationship before Drew. Sid apologizes to Hannah, promising to include her in all future decisions, while Drew and Sophie apologize to each other, and he reveals that he didn't want to talk about the last time he was there because of a huge fight he and Stacey had, and they consummate their relationship. Meanwhile, Jesse reveals that he has been seeing a new girl, Mia. Charlie decides to host a dinner party. When Valentina, Jesse and Mia arrive, Ellen realizes Mia is the first woman she slept with since her divorce. They agree not to tell Jesse. Over dinner, Charlie reveals he doesn't like listening to Valentina talk about her exes and eventually reveals he has followed several women across the ocean before her. Mia, not wanting their relationship to be based on lies, admits she slept with Ellen. Jesse, after initial disgust, reveals he doesn't actually like Mia but dated her because he was tired of being single for so long. After Valentina leaves, Charlie goes to her apartment to apologize, burning his passport to prove it and revealing following these women was his way of trying to get away from his suffocating family. Valentina admits the reason she was so upset about his exes is because she is in love with him, which he reciprocates.
7	"Rivka Rebel"	Kelly Park	Karen Joseph Adcock & Ria Sardana	February 22, 2022 (2022-02-22)	1HME08
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Sophie is asked to photograph a woman's daughter's bat mitzvah, and is asked to bring an assistant. She brings Valentina, but they have trouble getting her daughter Rivka, an Instagram model, to pose for any photos. Valentina tries to persuade her to pose, but she and her friends end up stealing the drugs in Valentina's purse. However, Sophie and Valentina find the teens are only under the placebo effect and threaten to tell Rivka's mother she is on drugs if she doesn't pose for the photos. The photos impress Rivka's mother, who offers Sophie a role in an art show, which Sophie accepts. Meanwhile, Jesse and Sid lock themselves in their apartment to work, but are distracted by pigeons and end up locked out on the fire escape, where Sid reveals he is having trouble planning his wedding, because everyone he wants to invite is in India, while Jesse admits he feels he may never be inspired to write songs again after Meredith. Charlie, amazing at his new job, receives a bad Yelp review and attempts to find out who wrote it, believing it to be a surly customer, but soon finds out it was Ellen. When he confronts her, she admits that despite having been in New York as long as he has, she still does not have a love life or a job, and was jealous. To cheer her up, he writes a good review of her.
8	"The Perfect Shot"	Lynda Tarryk	Jeremy Roth	March 1, 2022 (2022-03-01)	1HME07
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) After the events of the previous episode, Sophie attempts to get a photo for the show. Drew invites the gang to an auction the school is hosting. When Sophie attempts to get a photo, she breaks her tooth. Jesse brings her to a dentist, where she meets other artists who have been working for a long time and still gotten nowhere. When leaving, she questions their life choices, only to accidentally break her tooth again when their car breaks down. When she falls into despair, Jesse cheers her up by telling her how much he likes her photos, and she gets her perfect shot of him working on the car. At the auction, Drew reveals he offered Jesse his music teacher job full time, and that 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. Meanwhile, Meredith arrives at the apartment to talk to Jesse, and Sid and Ellen try to prevent her from seeing him. When she figures it out, she tells them she wrote a new single about her and Jesse's breakup and wants to apologize, but lets it come from them. Valentina, after being verbally abused by her boss, steals a purse for the auction, but when he notices it missing, she tries to get it back, only for it to be auctioned off. Charlie steals it back, causing a scene when they flee. Outside Pemberton's, Sophie approaches Jesse and reveals that she fought with Drew because he doesn't believe in what she is doing with her life the way he does, and they kiss.
9	"Jay Street"	Pamela Fryman	Ama Quao & Ally Thibault	March 8, 2022 (2022-03-08)	1HME09
The Captain is shown to have cheated on his wife, Becky. After their kiss, Sophie and Jesse decide to go on a date. Jesse tells Sid, who reveals that Meredith wrote a single about breaking up with him. When Jesse confronts her, she admits she broke up with him because she needed to figure out who she was outside a relationship. She reveals that she regrets breaking up with him, and offers him a position as a piano player on her tour. Sophie goes to Drew's apartment to break up with him, only to find his parents visiting and is forced to stay for brunch. When she tells his mother that she is breaking up with him, she refuses to allow it and tells Drew that his father was involved in a Ponzi scheme and may be arrested. Valentina calls her and says Jesse went to see Meredith, which forces her to rethink breaking up with Drew. However, she does, telling him he deserves to be with someone who is sure about him. At the bar, Charlie attempts to get the gang to watch soccer with him, but Ellen has a job interview upcoming while Sid and Hannah try to plan their wedding. When Sid mentions that he supports Sophie and Jesse, calling it "good cheating", Hannah becomes upset. She apologizes, tells him the long-distance relationship is hard on her and reveals she was offered a fellowship after her residency ends, meaning she may be in California for another year. After the game ends, Charlie reveals he is homesick, and soccer is the only thing he can associate with Britain. Valentina helps Ellen pick her outfit for the interview, before going back to Charlie's apartment and decorating it with British paraphernalia to cheer him up. After breaking up with Drew, Sophie goes to meet Jesse and is called by the gallery owner, who tells her the show will use her photograph. She finds that Jesse has not arrived yet, and sits down to wait for him. In 2050, future Sophie interrupts the story to get something to eat. As she walks away, a large copy of her "perfect shot" is seen hanging on her wall.
10	"Timing Is Everything"	Pamela Fryman	Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger	March 15, 2022 (2022-03-15)	1HME10
After the events of the previous episode, the Captain and Becky file for divorce, and she tells him she wants all his boats, including the one in Australia, revealed to be the one Ian is working on. The Captain reveals that he hasn't felt so bad since someone stole his pineapple in 2005. Jesse arrives late and explains he got closure with Meredith, and he and Sophie consummate their relationship. Afterward, in bed, Jesse says "I love you Sophie" in his sleep. She leaves and comes by his apartment to talk about it. When she tells him, he reveals he rejected Meredith's offer to go on tour and get back together with her. When she tells him she doesn't want him to give up his dream just for her, as their relationship is new, he tells her to leave. She goes to MacLaren's, the bar right downstairs, and meets Robin Scherbatsky, who she tells about Jesse. She encourages Sophie to not make her decisions out of fear. She goes to talk to Jesse, only to see him kissing Meredith. She tells Robin, who tells her, with love "timing is everything". Meanwhile, Sid encourages Hannah to take the fellowship, promising that they can visit each other more often. However, when they find what the weddings are going to cost, he starts to have second thoughts. Ellen, after a bad day, brings home a cat, and Charlie confides in her that Valentina wants children while he does not, as he does not want to be a bad parent like his mother. After Valentina starts to bond with the cat, Charlie reveals he does not want children, which shocks her. They both admit they will not change their opinion while Ellen goes to abandon the cat. In the hall, she runs into Rachel, who reveals the cat is hers, and that she does not hate Ellen, despite her first impression. At the art show, Charlie, Ellen, and Valentina arrive to support Sophie, and Ellen reveals she has a date with Rachel and was offered the job. Sid and Hannah arrive and reveal they have already been married at city hall. When Sophie tells Valentina Jesse isn't coming, Valentina reveals she and Charlie have broken up. Ian, having lost his job in Australia due to the Captain's divorce, arrives at the show, and asks Sophie "Is this a good time?"

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.^[2] 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.^[3] This attempt also fell through.^[4]

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.^[4] On June 24, 2021, Pamela Fryman joined the series as an executive producer and to direct the pilot.^[5] The series was released on January 18, 2022.^[6] On February 15, 2022, Hulu renewed the series for a 20-episode second season.^[7]

Casting[]

Upon series order announcement, Hilary Duff was cast to star.^[8] On June 16, 2021, Chris Lowell joined the cast as the male lead.^[9] 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.^[10][11] However, a few weeks later, Hall exited the role due to a scheduling conflict and Daniel Augustin was cast to replace Hall.^[12] The next day, Josh Peck and Ashley Reyes joined the cast in recurring roles.^[1] On November 5, 2021, Kim Cattrall was cast in a recurring role as the future version of Duff's character Sophie.^[13] Upon the series premiere, it was reported that Leighton Meester is set to recur.^[14] 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.^[15]

Filming[]

Principal photography for the series began on August 31, 2021.^[16]

Reception[]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 38% approval rating with an average rating of 5.1/10, based on 39 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."^[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 48 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[18]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• How I Met Your Father at IMDb