CBS was home to wildly popular "How I Met Your Mother" but decided to pass on the spin-off show, "How I Met Your Dad."
The spin-off has received a lot of buzz and it was speculated that CBS would have picked up the show but the network announced at their upfronts that "HIMYD" was not a part of their fall schedule. According to Deadline, CBS asked producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas to rework the pilot, which is not uncommon.
Before "The Big Bang Theory" was picked up by CBS, it had to redo the pilot episode. However, Bays and Thomas, along with Emily Spivey, decided not to reshoot the pilot. Deadline reports that the network had until midnight to make their final decision but didn't change their mind.
Just because CBS passed on the series, doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen. Sources told Deadline that other networks have expressed interest in picking up "How I Met Your Dad." At the upfronts, president of CBS Entertainment, Nina Tassler, told HitFix that the decision to pass on the show had nothing to do with the negative fan reaction to the "HIMYM" series finale.
"There were elements of the pilot that didn't work out," Tassler said. "We tried to reach out and engage them in terms of redoing the pilot. That's not happening right now."
She added that she was "heartsick" about the decision, telling E! News "We love this brand and we love this show, but it didn't work out."
"How I Met Your Dad" will feature the same format as the original show. It stars Greta Gerwig as Sally (The Mother) telling her future kids about meeting their father. According to reports, Sally will be going through a divorce in the series.
The character is described as "vibrant, messy and unpredictable." It also stars Meg Ryan as "Future Sally," the unseen narrator and older version of Gerwig's character. Her told would be similar to that of Bob Saget's in "How I Met Your Mother."
Drew Tarver, Tiya Sircar, Nick D'Agosto and Andrew Santino will also star on the show.
