‘Sex and the City’ Star Kim Cattrall Joins ‘How I Met Your Father’ Cast

Kim Cattrall is not returning to the Sex and the City sequel series, but fans will still hear her voice again on television. The Emmy-nominated star has joined Hulu’s How I Met Your Mother spin-off, How I Met Your Father, starring Hilary Duff. Cattrall will serve as the narrator, playing an older version of Duff’s character, similar to how Bob Saget narrated How I Met Your Mother from the perspective of an older version of Josh Radnor’s Ted Mosby.

Duff stars as Sophie, who will be telling her son how she met his father. Most of the story will begin in 2021, where Sophie has a group of close friends who are all trying to navigate a world in which dating apps and limitless options could help them find love. Sophie’s friends are played by Chris Lowell, Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, and Suraj Sharma. Cattrall’s casting as the show’s narrator was first reported by Deadline.

How I Met Your Father will be executive produced by writers Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. Original HIMYM creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are also serving as executive producers with Pam Fryman. Duff is also a producer on the long-gestating project. The 2014 attempt at a HIMYM spinoff, How I Met Your Dad, featured a pre-fame Greta Gerwig in the lead role and Meg Ryan as the narrator.

Unlike the ill-fated 2014 attempt, How I Met Your Father looks like it has a stronger chance of succeeding. Production is already underway, as Duff shared a photo from the set in August, surrounded by her co-stars. “Who’s ready for us??? We may or may not have been sitting in front of a certain someone’s apartment,” she wrote at the time. On Sept. 1, Duff shared another photo of herself taken during filming, showing off what the show’s bar set looks like.

In May, Duff told The Jess Cagle Show the series will have ties to the original How I Met Your Mother, and she hoped there would be appearances from the original cast. “I mean, the script was so good,” Duff said. “I literally called and I was like, ‘Please, yes, please have them pick me.’ I don’t want to give it all away and the script is definitely being changed a little bit. But it does tie in and, you know, hopefully we’ll have some fun guest appearances from the original cast.” The new show will run at least 10 episodes, and will be produced by 20th Television.

As for Cattrall, she recently finished filming About My Father, which co-stars Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco. She also starred in Fox’s Filthy Rich and CBS All Access’ Tell Me A Story. She played Samantha Jones in Sex and the City and the two Sex and the City movies, but she is the only major cast member not returning for the sequel series, And Just Like That…. The new series will debut on HBO Max, where fans can find the original Sex and the City series, in December. Cattrall earned five Emmy nominations from 2000 to 2004 and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Sex and the City.