‘How I Met Your Mother’ season 9: Spin-off being pondered with ‘Up All Night’ creator

Are we set to have “How I Met Your Father” in the near future? Maybe, but not exactly in the way that you think.

Sources confirm that “How I Met Your Mother” creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays are looking to work with former “Up All Night” creator Emily Spivey on a show that is basically the same sort of show as the original. The difference? It stars another character looking to meet their future other half, and this one is a woman rather than a man. There would be no obvious connection to “How I Met Your Mother” proper as in a major character coming over, though it is possible that the star of the spin-off may at least be present in the series finale of the CBS show. We’d be shocked if they had an extremely familiar relationship to any of the leads, mostly because that would necessitate actually having to see the original cast in a larger capacity. (At this point, we’re sure that Josh Radnor and company are ready to move on.)

One thing that could stay intact? MacLaren’s pub, which was a setting for the original show, as well. This makes it at least possible for the former cast members to appear, and it is easy to explain why they would not (such as they are moving on to other parts of their lives and may not have much of a need anymore to visit a bar regularly).

This would ultimately manage to do just what the show has been hoping for, at least in finding a unique way to tell the same sort of stories without having to make some sort of prequel. We were down for the idea of a “How I Met Your Father” series starring Milioti, but the problem with that would be the dependence that viewers would need to have watched the original show in order to get optimal enjoyment. (Plus, you’d have to use the same sort of stock shots of David Henrie and Lyndsy Fonseca, who actually filmed some of their final scenes quite a long time ago).

If you want to read more “How I Met Your Mother” scoop, click here if you want to watch a preview for the episode next week.

Photo: CBS