First, there was the beloved multi-cam sitcom,How I Met Your Mother. And now, season 2 of its sequel series is already underway, following Sophie (Hilary Duff), a struggling photographer looking for her soulmate. In 2050, she recounts the unabridged journey that would eventually lead to the meeting with her fated man. She lives together with Valentina (Francia Raisa), a free-spirited yet caring woman who is romantically involved with Charlie (Tom Ainsley), a former British aristocrat who is now a bartender at Pemberton’s, a bar owned by Sid (Suraj Sharma). Sid himself is a married man in a long-distance relationship with his wife.
These hilarious individuals contributed to the various plotlines inHow I Met Your Father,which is now streaming with new episodes every Tuesday, only on Hulu. The series covers the precious bond shared among the wonderfully diverse six friends, not just in terms of race and sexual orientation but individuality as well. It’s for these reasons thatseason 2 is truly finding its own voice. And we can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings, includingpossible crossover appearancesfromHow I Met Your Mother, in addition to thefun cameos we’ve already seen.
We recently caught up with co-stars Raisa, Ainsley, and Sharma to hear more about the creative process. And on that note, we also chatted with the series' co-creators,Isaac AptakerandElizabeth Berger, to learn more about what’s to come, plus their other projects in the works.
Co-Creators on Their Love for the Franchise
MW: What was it that inspired you to do this cool continuation of theHow I Met Your Motherfranchise?
Isaac Aptaker:We grew up loving multi-cam. And we’ve done a lot of single-cam comedy and drama, but we’d never done a sitcom before. We’ve always wanted to. And when the opportunity came along, we thought, “What a cool idea to create a new show very much set in 2022-2023, but that is in the same universe as this incredible iconic series and uses the same storytelling device, which is so much fun and very much something that appeals to us.” So we thought it was like a really cool opportunity and challenge almost to create something new that honors something old, that’s bringing sort of some very traditional elements of TV into 2023.
MW: What’s it like working with Hilary Duff?
Elizabeth Berger:She’s the best, she’s amazing. She is such a force. I don’t think you can find someone that sort of lights up a screen with as much charisma and charm in such a ridiculous way. I mean, something truly magical happens when that woman steps onto a set. She is also just the loveliest person, and that combination is pretty incredible. She is a dream to work with both for us, as well as for the entire crew. Just a very special pro.
Related:Hilary Duff on Reuniting with John Corbett for How I Met Your Father
Aptaker:And she’s just like a really good hang. It’s amazing that, like, you’re gonna be so famous at such a young age and wind up that balanced and grounded. She comes in, she’s so prepared. She has so many lines, and she crushes it. And then, she wraps and she goes home, and she makes dinner for her three children. Like, it’s really amazing and inspiring how she manages her life.
MW: What can we expect for the rest of season 2?
Berger:I’m terrible at dropping hints. But we’re very excited for our guest stars that we have coming. Obviously, people are going to find out exactly the way we’re utilizing Barney within our season, which I’m really excited for. We have an arc with John Corbett that I’m really excited for people to see. We have, you know, just really exciting stuff. And then I think, hopefully, people will feel like — in terms of our big romantic mystery or mysteries that we’re telling — they get some satisfying answer by the time all is said and done. So all of that I’m very excited for.
MW: In the third episode, I loved the “rando” character who has an Emoji for his face. Do you guys plan to do anything more with that type of character?
Aptaker:Yeah, we’re definitely more so playing with memories, it’s true. Like, who could remember, however many decades later, the names of all the guys that her best friend went out on one date with? So it felt like an apt way to visually represent that idea.
MW: Outside ofHow I Met Your Father, are there any other projects you guys are working on, that you’d like to share about?
Aptaker:Yeah, we have a new movie coming out. There’s a John Green book that we adapted, calledTurtles All the Way Downthat just they just finished coloring, timing, and mixing… so hopefully, it’s in the pipeline soon. We’re really proud of that. It’s very different. It’s a heavy drama, but a comedy too, about a girl struggling with mental illness and trying to find her version of a love story. And then we’re developing a new show for Hulu with Mandy Moore that is calledTwin Flames. And it’s a miniseries about a woman who falls prey to a relationship guru-turned-cult. It’s based on a podcast. It’s gonna be something very different for Mandy that we’re really psyched about.
Cast Dishes on Working with Hilary Duff, What’s to Come
MW: Did you watchHow I Met Your Mother, and did that play a part in your joining of this show?
Suraj Sharma:Well, I watched the original. I watched the whole thing. So it was actually not what you’d expect when the decision was made to do the show, because as a fan of the old show kind, I was like, “Oh, this is a lot of responsibility, actually. And it’s a hard one to pull off. So how are you guys going to do it?” And then meeting everybody and having conversations with the showrunners and everything, you start realizing, “Wow, this is like its own thing.” It’s the same world, different time, you know? So it’s epic, with different people and wonderful people. So, I mean, that was my whole thing about it.
Francia Raisa:I was definitely a fan before. But honestly, when I heard Hilary Duff, I was like, “OK, everything she touches turns to gold. Let’s see!” And I read the script, and I was on board. And you know, this is my first time doing a sitcom. So I’m definitely happy to be a part of this, and especially a show that I was a fan of personally.
Tom Ainsley:I think “responsibility” was a good word to pick up on, whereas there certainly is a responsibility. It’s not something that I will say that we feel often spend a lot of our time thinking about the original show. But we have to sort of honor the world that we live in with it and pay homage to it. But it was always important from day one that we were our own show. And this isn’t 2004 anymore… The world has moved on. The world of love and dating has moved on. And our show reflects that I think.
Related:How I Met Your Father Writers Think Casting John Corbett as Hilary Duff’s Love Interest is ‘Awesome’
MW: What’s it like shooting the show as a multi-cam sitcom?
Raisa:So fun. One of my favorite shows isI Love Lucy. I never thought I’d be on a multi-cam set. But it’s really fun. And I went back and started studying a lot of multi-cam shows because of it. It’s a great schedule. And it’s just fun. We just laugh and make jokes all the time.
Ainsley:There’s a lot more freedom as actors when we’re in the space where we just sort of play around, mess around, do what you want, and just trust that the cameras will follow us, hopefully.
Raisa:Oh, my gosh, it’s beyond my expectations. I was a fan growing up. She taught us a lot about fashion and trends and stuff. So I think originally when I booked, I was like, “Am I ‘Miranda’ fromLizzie McGuire?” This is amazing. But you know, she’s awesome. I mean, you imagine what a person is like in real life, and she exceeded that expectation. She’s wonderful to work with, wonderful to be friends with, real genuine, super professional, and keeps us all in check.
Sharma:Yeah. Great actor, great human. Very honest, very sincere. And she’s not doing this because she can. She’s doing it because she wants to, and it shows in her work.
MW: Is there anything you can share about what to expect for the rest of season 2?
Ainsley:“Payoffs” is a good word.
Sharma:Yeah, it really was the funnest.
Ainsley:As the scripts kept coming through week after week, we’d be going, “OK…so this is the tone we’re taking on!”
