Popular Hulu Sequel Series Renewed for Second Season

How I Met Your Father was renewed for a second season on Tuesday. The Hulu comedy has been a breakout hit, and its second season will be twice as long as its first. The show is a spinoff of How I Met Your Mother, starring Hilary Duff, Christopher Lowell, Francia Raisa, Suraj Sharma, Tom Ainsley, and Tien Tran.

The show follows a similar format to the original How I Met Your Mother, with Duff playing the central character explaining to her children in the future how she met their father. Duff stars as Sophie, a photographer living with her friends in New York. Kim Cattrall serves as the narrator, just like the late Bob Saget did in HIMYM. Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger developed the series and serve as executive producers, alongside HIMYM creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

“Isaac and Elizabeth’s inspired vision for How I Met Your Father has proven to be true appointment viewing that fans cannot get enough of week to week,” Jordan Helman, Head of Scripted Content, Hulu Originals, said in a statement to Deadline. “The lives of these characters, as portrayed by the immensely talented cast led by Hilary Duff, are just starting to unfold and we’re thrilled to bring more of this group’s journey to our viewers with a supersized second season.”

The HIMYF premiere episode was released on Jan. 18, just over a week after Saget’s death. The episode ended with a tribute card to Saget. HIMYF‘s connection to HIMYM was also revealed early on, as the main characters live in the same apartment that Ted (Josh Radnor), Marshall (Jason Segel), and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) called home in HIMYM. Jesse (Lowell) even told Sophie he heard about the apartment from Wesleyan alumni, a reference to Marshall and Lily.

“It definitely felt like a lot of responsibility to live up to the original,” Raisa, who plays Valentina, told PopCulture.com in a recent interview. “But also, it was very exciting because it’s its own show.” Sharma, who stars as the bar owner Sid, added, “Everybody came into this knowing that it is a responsibility. It is something we really have to work towards. So just the vibes that we inculcated amongst each other – it’s fantastic. We’re friends, so that’s all you really need.”

New HIMYF episodes are released on Tuesdays. The first season runs 10 episodes, but Hulu ordered 20 for Season 2.