The spinoff to the comedy series "How I Met Your Mother" could finally get the ball rolling with a new writer. Studio 20th Century Fox TV tapped Alison Bennett to develop "How I Met Your Father."
Alison Bennett worked as a scribe on "You're the Worst," a romantic comedy that airs on FX -- one of the studio's cable networks. The President of Creative Affairs at 20th Century Fox TV (Jonathan Davis) is confident that the writer will deliver after two failed attempts to get the spinoff off the ground.
"She is completely original, hilariously funny and a big, big talent," Davis said of Alison Bennett via Deadline.
The first spinoff attempt
During the final run of "How I Met Your Mother," CBS expressed interest in doing a spinoff series for 20th Century Fox. Greta Gerwig was enlisted to write the script, as well as lead the cast of "How I Met Your Dad."
The development went as far as the production of a pilot episode which also featured actors Drew Tarver, Nicholas D'Agosto, and Andrew Santino. CBS, however, did not order more episodes, as it received poor reviews during initial tests.
The studio tried to get other networks on board but to no avail. "How I Met Your Mother" creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays eventually announced in 2014 that spinoff plans were off the table.
The second try
In late 2016, the studio once again discussed spinoff development with a new set of writers.
This time, "This is Us" scribes Isaac Aptaker, and Elizabeth Berger got involved. They changed the spinoff title to "How I Met Your Father” and wrote a spec script.
But Aptaker and Berger were promoted to showrunners of "This is Us" season 2 for its fall season 2017 run. Thus, the writers won't likely be able to focus on "How I Met Your Father," should it get a series order.
The studio had no choice but to shelve their script.
The current development
Alison Bennett will reportedly not base the spin-off's current development from any previous attempts. Fox chairman Dana Walden said via Deadline that the project would have to start from scratch.
At this stage, it's still unclear where "How I Met Your Father" will air.
CBS remain interested, but the show might go to Fox or a streaming platform. Until then, the studio will have to see if the project will be good enough to move forward.
"It’s one that’s been slowly cooked. If it’s the right idea, the right execution, we’ll take that," Walden told the Television Critics Association panel.
