Hulu Show Recasts Major Star

Hulu’s forthcoming How I Met Your Mother spinoff has had to recast one of the series’ major roles. Deadline reports that Daniel Augustin (David Makes Man) is replacing God Friended Me star Brandon Micheal Hall, who had previously been cast in the role. Hall had to exit the series after filming schedule changes conflicted with another project.

In How I Met Your Father, Hilary Duff stars as Sophie, a woman recalling the story of how she met her son’s father (essentially gender-swapping the plot of the original series). The story jumps back to 2021, when Sophie and her friends were living their lives fun and free, discovering who they are and what they want in life while seeking romance at a time when dating apps are the most common form of finding love. Augustin will be playing Ian, a character who is described as “handsome, smart, [and] funny.” He matches with Sophie on Tinder and eventually meets her in person for the first time.

In addition to Duff and Augustin, former G.L.O.W. actor Chris Lowell has been cats to play the young “father,” to Duff’s pre-mother role. Lowell plays Jesse, one of Sophie’s friends. The character is described as “smart, with a bit of an edge” and “cynical about love.” Jesse is an aspiring musician whose day job is being an Uber driver, and he is roommates with his best friend, Tom.

How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have signed on as executive producers of the new series, with Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger hired to write the 10-episode comedy. Duff will serve as a producer on How I Met Your Father, and 20th Television, the same studio behind the original series, will serve as the producing studio. The show will also use the same multi- and single-camera style of filming used on How I Met Your Mother.

In a statement on the new series, Bays and Thomas: “Kids, I’m going to tell you an incredible story: It’s the story of how two writers got lucky enough to make their dream TV show for nine seasons and now get to pass the torch to an inspired new creative team with their own incredible story to tell, the story of How I Met Your Father. We are honored by their passion and vision, and look forward to helping them tell a legendary new story. (Thanks to all the HIMYM fans out there who waited for it.)” The new spinoff has been ordered straight-to-series at Hulu, but no premiere date has been announced as of yet.