How I Met Your Father may be a standalone spin-off series, but the season 1 finale brought back a major character from the main show, How I Met Your Mother (warning: spoilers ahead).
The new series stars Hilary Duff as Sophie, a hopeless romantic looking for her soulmate. Much like the original series, How I Met Your Mother, the show is framed by an older version of the protagonist (played by Kim Cattrall this time around), who is telling her son the story of how she met his father.
As the show's first season wrapped up, a major character from How I Met Your Mother made a special appearance to give Sophie some sage advice. After a disagreement with love interest Jesse (Chris Lowell), Sophie heads downstairs to the bar below his apartment – which just so happens to be MacLaren’s, the place where much of the original series took place. There, she bumps into Robin, played by Cobie Smulders, who tells her: "If I’ve learned anything at all about love, it’s that timing is everything. Sometimes, timing’s a bitch."
Robin was one of the main characters in the original show, which ended with her marrying, and then divorcing Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), before Ted (Josh Radnor) admits he still has feelings for her in a series finale that proved very unpopular with fans.
The spin-off has been renewed for season 2, but there isn't a release date for the second installment yet. However, we do know that the episode count will jump up from 10 to 20 – so there'll be plenty of time for any other cameos the showrunners may have in mind.
How I Met Your Father season 1 is available to stream on Hulu. For more viewing inspiration, check out our picks of the best TV shows of 2021.
