LOS ANGELES β Donβt confuse βHow I Met Your Fatherβ with βHow I Met Your Mother,β star Hilary Duff says.
Characters donβt match up. βThis person isnβt our Barney. This person isnβt our Ted. We love the landscape of that show and we can we appreciate how they told that story,β she says. βBut, really, the characters are just so different.β
Then, too? βThis is just a much more current explanation of a friend group and young people today.β
Some of the exploits of βMotherβsβ regulars wouldnβt fly in the face of #MeToo. βFather,β she says, is βoriginal without borrowing.β
In the Hulu comedy, now in its second season, Duff plays a photographer looking for love. She confides in a group of friends and helps them find comfort in their own relationships.
The cast of "How I Met Your Father," from left, Charlie (Tom Ainsley), Jesse (Chris Lowell), Ellen (Tien Tran), Sophie (Hilary Duff), Valentin…
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'Lizzie' lessons
While Duff starred in the Disney series, βLizzie McGuire,β when she was a teen, this is a different situation β sheβs an executive producer who helps shape the showβs direction.
Her last series, βYounger,β was shot in the single camera format and βit takes a long time to shoot those.β
Now, after shooting βFatherβ with multiple cameras without an audience, βI canβt imagine doing (a series) any other way.β Multi-camera shows bring more energy. βEvery day weβre moving and thereβs a pace.β
While some βLizzieβ looks now make her cringe, Duff says the process βprepared me in a way that has stuck with me forever. Obviously, the business is something that constantly changed. But I donβt exactly know how. I think I just feel really grateful that I keep getting hired.β
The gang's all here: Hilary Duff, from left, Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley and Tien Tran.
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While the first season of βFatherβ only had 10 episodes, the second (which started in January) will boast 20. That ups the ante and also lets other characters get their moments in the spotlight.
Executive Producer Elizabeth Berger says those first episodes helped the showβs creatives discover who the characters were. βThe writing experience is very different because youβre bringing to the table so specifically what everybody does so well. Things evolve organically because youβre getting to know the humans and youβre getting to know their brilliant work.β
Christopher Lowell, who plays Jesse, says the writers βlearned our voices. We sort of learned our voices and they really play to all of our strengths. So the characters get even more distinguished.β
Tien Tran, who plays Ellen, says itβs often easy to predict how an actor is going to say a line. βYouβre like, βI know how theyβre going to move.β
βItβs very easy to take a toxic path for some of these decisions that our characters make, but I love that our show oftentimes takes a healthier, more mature (path)," she ads. "Sitcoms of yore would maybe take the easy, sort of toxic path. Itβs a good model for how relationships should be approached in real life.β
Pamela Fryman, who worked on βMother,β says it was great to change the narrative and try something different. Because βFatherβ is on Hulu, she has time to do longer episodes β not a 21-minute network show. βIt becomes a bigger, more fun show to do.β
Β Jesse (Christopher Lowell), left, comes to Sid (Suraj Sharma) for advice.Β
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First impressions
She and the writers get a chance to see what the actors can do when they all sit down for the first reading of a script. βWe like being surprised with whatever they bring to the table,β says Francia Raisa, one of the writers.
Similarly, the actors enjoy discovering what situations the writers have put them in. βThey really surprise us at every turn,β Duff says. βIt exceeds my expectations, but it is a collaborative effort. Everyone is very βopen earsβ and ready to make us feel heard, which is a cool place to be heard.β
The actors often try to corner the writers during rehearsals to ask a multitude of questions.
The only problem? βI recently discovered that weβve been lied to,β says Tom Ainsley, who plays Charlie. βQuite often, Iβll get what I think is the scoop and Iβll come in the next morning and tell everyone. And they all go, βWe havenβt heard that.β And I go, βWell, they canβt have told me. Thereβs no way they would have told me and only me.β And, I have a feeling theyβre trying to find out where the leak is.β
"How I Met Your Father" returns for its second season Jan. 24 on Hulu
Hilary Duff and Christopher Lowell often get moments together on "How I Met Your Father."Β
Β Ellen (Tien Tran) shaves Charlie (Tom Ainsley) in "How I Met Your Father."
Journal photos from the set of the Hulu show How I Met Your Father
