How I Met Your Motherstar Alyson Hannigan explains why she still has not watched the spinoff seriesHow I Met Your Father. In her role as Lily Aldrin, Hannigan was a series regular in all nine seasons ofHow I Met Your Motherthat aired from 2005-2014 on CBS. The spinoff starring Hilary Duff debuted on Hulu in 2022 and ran for two seasons beforeHow I Met Your Fatherwas cancelledby the streaming service, leaving the identity of the mysterious father unresolved.
While speaking withPeople, Hannigan explained that she never watchedHow I Met Your Fatherbecause when Cobie Smulders appeared in an episode as Robin Scherbatsky and showed images from the set,“it kind of made my heart hurt. And I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m ready to watch.'“Hannigan jokes that"she probably should have watched"the episode featuring Sandy Rivers, a character from the original and spinoff series played by her husband, Alexis Denisof. Nevertheless, Hannigan admits that"I just couldn’t. It just made me sad because I’m like, oh, that’s the same set.”
Could Lily Have Eventually Appeared In How I Met Your Father?
The Spinoff Already Featured Numerous How I Met Your Mother Characters
With Smulders and Denisof being among the several returningHow I Met Your Motherstars to reprise their roles in the spinoff series,it may only have been a matter of time before Hannigan played Lily again as well. Neil Patrick Harris returned to play Barney Stinson in season 2 when he is in his early years as a father, unexpectedly helping Duff’s character, Sophie Tompkins, when she is having her own crisis. Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Bell Bundy, and Joe Nieves also reprised their respectiveHow I Met Your Mothersupporting roles as the Captain, Becky, and Carl the bartender.
In the second half of season 2,How I Met Your Fatherwas also starting to successfully forge its own identity without overly relying onHow I Met Your Mothercameos, and bringing Lily in may have undermined that progress.
Seeing Hannigan return as Lily, along with Josh Radnor and Jason Segel playingTed Mosby and Marshall Eriksenagain, could have been a highlight of the spinoff’s future seasons. With Sophie being a photographer, and Lily being an artist and art consultant, the two characters would have had some common interests that would have helped them bond if they ever crossed paths. Just as Robin and Barney helped Sophie navigate difficult moments in her life,Lily could have helped Sophie as well.
Despite the narrativepotential of Lily’s return,Hannigan may have been uninterested due to the emotions attached to the original series, and the difficulty of playing the character again after so many years. In the second half of season 2,How I Met Your Fatherwas also starting to successfully forge its own identity without overly relying onHow I Met Your Mothercameos, and bringing Lily in may have undermined that progress. Unfortunately, the series' promising future, and whether it would have involved Lily, remains unknown after the cancellation.
How I Met Your Mother
Cast
How I Met Your Mother is a television series that follows a father telling his children about his past. Released in 2005, it explores his experiences and adventures with four close friends, leading up to meeting their mother, as depicted through a series of flashbacks.
