‘How I Met Your Mother’ ‘spin-off’ casts Greta Gerwig’s best friend

Drew Tarver has to be in the midst of one of the biggest whirlwind experiences of his life right now. While he is a former member of the very prestigious Upright Citizens Brigade company, who has produced many an acting legend and a large number of “Saturday Night Live” cast members, most have probably never heard of him.

All of that could end up changing now courtesy of “How I Met Your Dad.” According to Deadline, Tarver has been cast following a diversity showcase at CBS to play the role of Todd, the best friend to Greta Gerwig’s main character Sally, on the “How I Met Your Mother” companion series. (It’s more of that than a spin-off, really.) Todd is now married to Sally’s brother, and in the pilot she comes to live with them after making a decision about the state of her current marriage.

“How I Met Your Dad” is probably the crown jewel at the moment in a slate of comedies at CBS, especially given that you have both original creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas on board along with “Up All Night” creator Emily Spivey. It’s a great group of talent, and the original show is the second-strongest comedy that the network has right now after “The Big Bang Theory.” This could be a flop, but it’s going such a sense of momentum about it right now that it is almost impossible to ignore.

The official decision on “How I Met Your Dad’s” future could come at any time, but we anticipate it being made (as is usually the case) by the CBS upfronts in May.

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Photo: CBS