Francis Ha star Greta Gerwig has been cast as the lead character in CBS’ How I Met Your Mother spin-off, How I Met Your Dad. However, rather than telling the story of the mother from that series (which is currently airing its final season), How I Met Your Dad will focus on a completely new cast of characters.
Casting Gerwig has meant that the pilot has now been given the greenlight, and the actress is expected to produce and write the series. How I Met Your Mother regular Pam Fryman will direct, while How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas will also be returning alongside Emily Spivey to write and executive produce.
The network believe that casting the Indie actress as Sally will bring them the same level of success that Fox found by choosing Zooey Deschanel to lead New Girl, and will move production from Los Angeles to New York to accommodate her.
Official descriptions for each of the lead characters were officially released last week, and you can check those out below. It’s clear that each of them are in very different stages of their lives when compared to what Ted, Marshall, Barney, Robyn and Lily were up to when we first met them. Whether there will be any connections between the two series’ remains to be seen.
Sally: Vibrant, messy and unpredictable — a “female Peter Pan who has never grown up and has no idea of where she’s going in life.” She’s thinking of calling it quits with her husband of a year, Gavin. She’ll lean on her circle of friends for advice and support through the inevitable divorce.
Juliet: Sally’s sexy, flamboyant, energetic, party-girl BFF. She runs a successful fashion blog. She’s delighted to learn Sally is ending things with the terminally boring Gavin.
Danny: Sally’s older gay brother, a Type A, overachieving lawyer whom she shares little in common with. They nonetheless share a tight bond, although Sally’s decision to move in with Danny after her split with Gavin promises to test that bond.
Todd: Danny’s warm, outgoing husband and one of Sally’s closest friends from college. Unlike Danny, Todd welcomes Sally into their home.
Frank: The head of IT for Juliet’s fashion blog. He’s a hot nerd. He has genuine feelings for Sally, but it’s a one-sided flirtation. At least for the moment.
