Hulu announces cast and characters of How I Met Your Father

Here's who's who in the upcoming How I Met Your Mother spin-off

Hulu announces cast and characters of How I Met Your Father

Photo: Kirsten Miccoli

After the painfully bad pilot for the How I Met Your Mother spin-off How I Met Your Dad didn’t get picked up by CBS in 2014, Hulu decided they’d take a stab at bringing it to life with new showrunners, a fresh premise (they won’t have a kid named Cricket this time around), and a different title: How I Met Your Father. Hilary Duff was announced as its lead, Sophie, earlier this year and now Hulu’s revealed the rest of the cast.

Here’s who’s who in How I Met Your Father:

Chris Lowell as Jesse

The Veronica Mars alum is going to play Jesse, who’s described as “an aspiring musician who works as an Uber driver to make ends meet.” He’s also said to be “cynical about love” and lives with his best friend, Sid. We enjoy any excuse to see Lowell onscreen, so this is a solid casting choice.

Suraj Sharma as Sid

Jesse’s best friend Sid is described as “the optimist to Jesse’s cynicism.” He’s a bar owner, so we can expect that Sid’s bar will be the next McLaren’s Pub for this new gang.

Francia Raisa as Valentina

Valentina is Sophie’s roommate and close friend, who’s an aspiring stylist. She’s described as “impulsive and adventurous,” and is the one to motivate Sophie and cheer her up when she’s down. The character sounds a bit like Juliet from the original pilot, but hopefully more refined.

Tom Ainsley as Charlie

While Sophie doesn’t seem to start off thriving in the love department (if she was, what would be the point of the show?), Valentina sure seems to be. Charlie is an aspiring model who falls for Valentina after meeting her at London Fashion Week, following her to New York City. He’s described as “the son of conservative aristocrats,” who is a “great guy but he’s been living in a rich person’s bubble his whole life.”

Tien Tran as Ellen

We thankfully get a queer character in this spin-off, who seems far better than the stereotypical gay couple we saw in the failed pilot. Ellen is Jesse’s adoptive sister, who moves to New York City from a small farming town after separating from her wife. She’s described as someone who is “more comfortable on an organic lettuce field than a Brooklyn dive bar,” so it’s the old “fish out of water in the big city” storyline we often see in New York City-based sitcoms.

 
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