How I Met Your Father renewed for season 2 at Hulu

Despite lukewarm reviews, Hulu has renewed How I Met Your Father for a second season. Not only that, but it will also be a supersized Season 2 consisting of 20 episodes. The pickup of the 20th Television series from This Is Us showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger comes midway through season one.

Led by Hilary Duff, How I Met Your Father is a standalone sequel to CBS’ How I Met Your Mother. On the show, Sophie (Kim Cattrall) is telling her son the story of how she met his father: a story that sends us back to the year 2021 where Sophie (Hilary Duff) and her close-knit group of friends – Jesse (Chris Lowell), Valentina (Francia Raisa), Charlie (Tom Ainsley), Ellen (Tien Tran) and Sid (Suraj Sharma) — 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. Jordan Helman, Head of Scripted Content, Hulu Originals, had this to say about the renewal:

“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. 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.”

Hulu picked up How I Met Your Father to series last year after a few previous versions of the show failed to make CBS’ lineup in the years after How I Met Your Mother ended. The first attempt, 2014’s How I Met Your Dad, came from How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and Parks and Recreation alum Emily Spivey. The pilot starred Greta Gerwig but was passed over at CBS. The next attempt came from Aptaker and Berger, who first tried their hand at the concept back in 2016. After Aptaker and Berger’s first pass stalled, Allison Bennett (You’re the Worst) was hired to write give the premise a shot but that version was passed on as well. Considering all of these attempts to make this work, it’s not surprising that reviews for the Hulu version haven’t been all that great but I suspect brand recognition has made it a hit with viewers on Hulu.

Are YOU happy to see How I Met Your Father return?