Legen… wait for it… dary! Barney Stinson is officially back in town. Neil Patrick Harris will reprise his How I Met Your Mother character in the upcoming mid-season finale of Hulu’s sitcom How I Met Your Father.
Harris first made a surprise cameo in the Season 2 premiere “Cool and Chill.” In a flash-forward scene, Sophie (Hilary Duff) leaves her mom a frantic voicemail worrying that she might accidentally be dating her father. In the midst of her panic, she crashes into a luxury SVU. The driver steps outside of the vehicle and reveals himself as Barney, who simply says, “Dude!” as his car’s bumper falls off.
Harris will appear in the two-part mid-season finale, streaming Tuesday, March 28. He is the second HIMYM alumnus to reprise his role in the spin-off so far, with Cobie Smulders having appeared as Robin last season. Although no further details are known yet, Barney is expected to play a crucial role in Sophie’s story. Hulu shared a first-look photo, displayed below:
In an interview with The NOC earlier this year, Duff gushed about working with Harris. “I have a big crush on Neil,” Duff said. “I didn’t realize. Like, he’s a married man. And I’m a married woman. But like, he’s just stunning. And his personality is so charming. I’ve seen him on lots of things before, but in person, I was kind of taken by him. He’s really cool.”
A spin-off of HIMYM, How I Met Your Father centers on Sophie as she tells her son the story of how she met his father. Christopher Lowell, Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, Suraj Sharma also star. Other recurring cast members include Kim Cattrall, Daniel Augustin, Ashley Reyes, and Josh Peck. The series was created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, who also serve as executive producers. Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Pamela Fryman, Adam Londy, and Suzy Mamann Greenberg are aditional executive producers. Duff also serves as a producer.
After the mid-season finale, Season 2 will go on a brief hiatus, returning Tuesday, May 23. The series will then continue to stream weekly on Tuesdays until the Season 2 finale Tuesday, July 11. The season finale will be two episodes.