Hilary Duff to star in ‘How I Met Your Mother’ sequel for Hulu
Hulu has some legen–waitforit–dary news for those missing “How I Met Your Mother.”
The streamer announced on Wednesday that former “Lizzie McGuire” star Hilary Duff is set to lead a new sequel series from 20th Television, original creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and “This Is Us” writing duo Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger.
The show received a 10-episode order from Hulu.
Duff, who will executive produce, is set to star as main character and narrator Sophie, who is telling her son the story of how she met his father. The story, according to a logline shared by Hulu, “catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.”
Duff most recently starred in “Younger,” and late last year, dashed many Millennials’ hopes for a Lizzie McGuire reboot after creative differences derailed the project.
“How I Met Your Mother” ran for nine seasons on CBS from 2005-2014 and starred Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan and Josh Radnor. Bob Saget voiced the older version of Radnor’s character, Ted Mosby, and acted as the series narrator.
According to 20th Television president Karey Burke, the show remains “a crown jewel in the 20th library.”
Past attempts to deliver a new take on the series were unfruitful. At one point, CBS pursued a spin-off called “How I Met Your Dad,” that starred now Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig. A pilot of that project was produced, but it was not picked up to series.
Bays and Thomas said in a statement they see the new series as a passing of the torch of sorts and thanked all the “How I Met Your Mother” “fans out there who waited for it.”
Aptaker and Berger added in a joint statement: “We can’t wait for audiences to meet Sophie and her crew, and watch them come into their own and find love in modern-day New York City. And we hope nobody thinks it’s weird that Bob Saget will be playing old Hilary Duff’s voice.”
