Hilary Duff to Star in 'How I Met Your Mother' Sequel Series at Hulu: 'Suit Up!'

Hilary Duff's upcoming Hulu show, How I Met Your Father, comes as the actress is wrapping up seven seasons on Younger

Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff. Photo: Aaron Poole/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

Hilary Duff's new post-Younger project is going to be legen — wait for it — dary!

Hulu announced on Wednesday that the actress is taking the lead on the How I Met Your Mother sequel series, How I Met Your Father. Ten episodes have already been ordered, with This Is Us co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger leading the charge along with Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, who created the original series for CBS. Duff, 33, will also serve as a producer.

Duff, who welcomed her third child, daughter Mae, on March 24, was quick to share her excitement.

"I've been incredibly lucky in my career to play some wonderful characters and I'm looking forward to taking on the role of Sophie," she said in a statement. "As a huge fan of How I Met Your Mother, I'm honored and even a little nervous that Carter and Craig would trust me with the sequel of their baby. Isaac and Elizabeth are brilliant, and I can't wait to work alongside them and all of their genius."

The star continued, "Just fangirling over here getting to join the Hulu Originals and 20th families. I realize these are big shoes to fill and I'm excited to slip my 6 ½'s in there!"

"I truly feel blessed," Duff added on Instagram. "Suit up!"

How I Met Your Mother ran on CBS from 2005 to 2014. The pop culture phenomenon starred Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby), Cobie Smulders (Robin Scherbatsky), Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson), Jason Segel (Marshall Erikson) and Alyson Hannigan (Lily Aldrin).

The series followed Radnor's character Ted Mosby, who tells his children the story of how he met their mother. In its nine season run, How I Met Your Mother earned multiple Emmy wins and Golden Globe recognition.

Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Robin (Cobie Smulders), Ted (Josh Radnor), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), and Marshall (Jason Segel) of How I Met Your Mother
Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty

Months before the sitcom's controversial series finale aired in 2014, a How I Met Your Dad spinoff series was announced. Greta Gerwig was signed on to star but CBS ultimately passed on the project.

"We shot the pilot and it was so much fun! I loved working on it," Gerwig, 37, said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2017. "The audience, they're given knobs. They turn the knob to the right if they like it and to the left if they don't. And apparently, they turned the knob to the left every time I came on...so yeah, they didn't like it. At all."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Two years later, Deadline reported that the series was being renamed to How I Met Your Father and getting brand new characters. Aptaker and Berger were additionally tapped to write the show, but the project was later put on hold in 2017.

20th Television President Karey Burke noted that Aptaker and Berger "have created a spectacular new take which both honors the original and is entirely their own." Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment President Craig Erwich additionally added, "Isaac and Elizabeth have proven to be rich storytellers and great partners to us at Hulu Originals and across The Walt Disney Company family. Coupled with the passion and infectious energy Hilary brings to every role she takes on, we can't wait to suit up and bring audiences How I Met Your Father."

It's currently uncertain when How I Met Your Father will arrive on Hulu.

Hilary Duff
Ashley Barrett

In the meantime, the final season of Younger is currently streaming on Paramount+, with the finale slated for June 10. But that may not be the last you see of Duff's Kelsey Peters. Show creator Darren Star is in the process of developing a spinoff series.

"The best way to describe it is that it would be a bit of a female Entourage with Kelsey as the lead," Star told Variety earlier this month.

Younger Season 7 Sneak Peek: Hilary Duff’s Kelsey Peters Freaks Out About Turning 30
Paramount+

Previously, Duff was expected to return to her child star roots for a revival of Lizzie McGuire on Disney+, but the series was canceled due to behind-the-scenes issues.

"It was a big disappointment obviously," Duff told Good Morning America in March. "I will forever be grateful for the two episodes that we did shoot."

"It was a really special two weeks of my life," she added.

Related Articles