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The US sitcom How I Met Your Mother premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. Created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, the show is presented from the perspective of Ted Mosby in 2030 ("Future Ted") as he tells his children how he met the titular mother. The show lasted for nine seasons and 208 episodes; the finale first aired on March 31, 2014. A stand-alone sequel series, How I Met Your Father, premiered on Hulu on January 18, 2022. Created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the show is presented from the perspective of Sophie in 2050 as she recounts to her unseen son the events that followed meeting his father in January 2022.
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The main characters of How I Met Your Mother are: Ted Mosby, a romantic searching for "The One"; Barney Stinson, a womanizer; Robin Scherbatsky, a journalist who moved to New York in 2005; and Marshall Eriksen and Lily Aldrin, a long-term couple. Although the show is based around The Mother, her first appearance is not until the season eight finale. How I Met Your Father meanwhile features the main characters Sophie, a romantic searching for her "soulmate"; Jesse, an aspiring musician; Sid, Jesse's best friend; Valentina and Charlie, Sophie's best friend and her British boyfriend; and Ellen, Jesse's adoptive sister, while also featuring main characters from How I Met Your Mother in guest roles.
Many of the main characters' relatives appear throughout the show, such as Lily's father or Barney's brother. They may also be seen in family gatherings, such as Barney and Robin's wedding or Marshall's father's funeral. Ted's children and Marvin W. Eriksen (son of Marshall and Lily) appear in the background of many episodes and key moments without being crucial to many plots.
Ranjit, Carl, and several other characters often appear because they work in places the main cast frequently visit/hang out at (such as MacLaren's Pub). Characters in relationships with Ted, Barney, or Robin often appear in several episodes within a short period of time, such as Victoria, Nora, or Kevin. Minor characters such as the Slutty Pumpkin or Mary the Paralegal may only appear in one or two episodes, but still play a crucial role in the episodes in which they appear.
Notes:
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Portrayed by Josh Radnor, Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby (born on April 25, 1978) is a romantic, originally searching for "The One" and often discussing destiny and "The Universe" controlling things. Ted grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio with parents Virginia Mosby, Alfred Mosby, and sister Heather Mosby. He is an architect who graduated from Wesleyan University, where he met Marshall and Lily. Ted is also the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children a very long story, with the premise of explaining how he met their mother. Ted's history includes being left at the altar, taking a job as an architecture professor and designing the new headquarters for Goliath National Bank.
Ted dates many people and has several long-term relationships. Ted has an on-again, off-again relationship with Robin. Ted also dates Victoria, Stella, Zoey and Jeanette. Ted finally meets his wife-to-be, Tracy, on the day of Barney and Robin's wedding, after a series of missed connections over the course of the series: accidentally teaching one of her college classes, owning her yellow umbrella for a short time, and dating her roommate.
In the finale, it is revealed that his wife died six years earlier. His children tell him that his story was about him being in love with Robin as their mother only features in a small amount of it. They urge him to get back together with Robin and he does, bringing the iconic blue French horn with him. A deleted scene confirms they rekindled their relationship.
Portrayed by Jason Segel, Marshall Eriksen met Ted and Lily during their freshman year at Wesleyan University. He and Lily began dating during college and got married at the end of season 2. Marshall is a Columbia Law School graduate originally from Minnesota. Marshall became a lawyer because he was interested in environmental protection laws. He accepts a job at a corporate law firm, before joining the legal team at Goliath National Bank, where Barney also works. Marshall believes in the paranormal, specifically Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster. In early 2011, after being told Marshall and Lily are capable of having a baby, Marshall's dad has a fatal heart attack and dies. His first son, born in the episode "The Magician's Code – Part 1" is named Marvin, after Marshall's father.
Marshall eventually is accepted to his dream job, being a judge, after committing to move to Italy with Lily. This leads to constant conflict between the couple through most of the final season. Throughout the first half of the last season, Marshall is on a car ride from Minnesota to Long Island after missing his flight to Barney and Robin's wedding. In this process, Marshall meets The Mother.
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Portrayed by Cobie Smulders, Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr. works as a news reporter for various stations, ending up at World Wide News. She is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia and is a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. Robin was named after her father, who she has some issues with as he wanted a male child. She and Ted have an on-again, off-again relationship. The subject of four episodes, Robin was a teen pop singer named Robin Sparkles. Her first boyfriend, Simon, starred in her second music video. In season 4, Robin moves in with Ted after leaving her short-lived job in Japan. During "The Leap", she and Barney pursue a relationship, but it soon ends.
Robin is frequently made fun of for her tendency to laugh while lying, as well as her references to places and history exclusive to Canada, such as Mount Waddington or Danby's. Though she has stated explicitly that she does not like children, Future Ted mentioned that she eventually grew to like them and even became close to Ted's children. After being unemployed for a while, Robin found out that she would be deported from America if she did not get a job. Barney helped her land a job for an early morning show in "The Possimpible". Soon after she started she got a co-host named Don whom she originally disliked. However, she grew to like him and they dated for a while. In "False Positive", Robin worked as a researcher for World Wide News and eventually moved up to co-anchor after hosting a New Year's Eve show. It is revealed in the season 7 finale that Robin married Barney. They divorce after almost three years of marriage. In 2030, Robin is shown to be living with her dogs in New York when she gets asked out by Ted, a six-year widower by then. A deleted scene reconfirms they rekindled their relationship, while an alternate ending in which Ted is not widowed depicts Robin and Barney as renewing their relationship.
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Portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, Barnabus "Barney" Stinson is a former womanizer. He is known for wearing suits, playing laser tag, performing magic tricks, and overusing catchphrases such as "Suit up!", "Legend-wait-for-it-dary" and "Challenge accepted!". Barney is the writer of the Bro Code and the Playbook, documenting rules for best friends ("bros") and his favorite moves to use on women.
Barney was raised by a single mother, Loretta, along with his older brother James. He is abandoned by his father. In season 6, Barney's father Jerome returns to his life hoping to make amends. As a young adult, Barney was a long-haired hippie with plans to join the Peace Corps. Soon after his girlfriend rejects him for a businessman, he drastically changes his lifestyle, dressing in suits and accepting a corporate job. Shortly after, he met Ted Mosby at a urinal and announced that he would "teach [Ted] how to live", thus beginning his life with Ted's group of friends.
In season 4, Barney falls in love with Robin and spends the next season hiding it from her. The two get together in season 5, but the relationship is short-lived. After their breakup, Barney returns to one-night stands, but sometimes shows regret in ending his relationship with Robin. In "Desperation Day", Robin introduces him to her friend Nora. Barney and Nora have a brief relationship, but it ends because Barney is unwilling to let himself be honest with her about his feelings. Later, they get back together but Barney cheats on Nora with Robin. In "Challenge Accepted", it is revealed that Barney gets married at some point in the future; in "The Magician's Code", the bride is revealed to be Robin. However, Barney and Robin get divorced in 2016. Barney goes back to having one-night stands, and eventually impregnates a woman. The birth of his daughter, Ellie, effectively causes him to change his ways for good.
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Portrayed by Alyson Hannigan, Lily Aldrin is a kindergarten teacher. She is married to Marshall and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Like Ted and Marshall, she is a graduate of Wesleyan University and dreams of being an artist. Lily has a huge debt problem because of her impulsive shopping; she is able to hide this from Marshall until they apply for a mortgage in "Dowisetrepla". She is very manipulative, having caused several of Ted's relationships to end when she disliked his date. It has been shown many times that she cannot keep a secret, with a few exceptions: she hides her second pregnancy and keeps Ted's move to Chicago a secret from everyone but Marshall. Another ongoing joke in the show is her implied bisexuality, as evidenced by plenty of commentary as well as a couple instances of her kissing Robin.
Prior to college, Lily dated Scooter. At college, she met Ted and started dating Marshall. She and Marshall were together for 9 years and engaged for almost a year before Lily broke up with Marshall to move to San Francisco for a summer to concentrate on her art. Marshall was so hurt that they stayed separated for a few months after she returned to New York. They eventually get married at the end of season 2. They move into an apartment in "Dowisetrepla"; previously, they had been living with Ted. They consider children for years before feeling "ready". Lily finds out in the season 6 finale that she is pregnant. In the episode "Good Crazy", Lily goes into labor five weeks early and in the episode "The Magician's Code – Part 1", gives birth to Marvin. In season eight, Lily accepts a job as The Captain's art consultant. The Captain later asks her to move to Italy to search for and purchase artwork for his collection; she and Marshall agree to move there. However, this is the cause of disagreement between the couple as Marshall accepts an offer to be a judge without consulting Lily. Lily is revealed to be pregnant with a second child in "Daisy", followed by third child a few years later in "Last Forever".
In "Double Date", Ted mentions that the group has seen people who look exactly like them. This theme of five doppelgängers, one for each of the main characters (excluding The Mother), continues throughout several episodes.
The first three doppelgängers are seen in "Double Date". "Moustache Marshall" appears on an advert on the side of a bus, and is spotted by Barney in MacLaren's. "Lesbian Robin" is seen in the streets of New York. "Stripper Lily" (known by the name "Jasmine") works at the Lusty Leopard and also appears in "46 Minutes" and "Gary Blauman", eventually marrying Scooter. "Mexican Wrestler Ted" is discovered in "Robots Versus Wrestlers".
Barney's doppelgänger is the most significant; Lily and Marshall want a sign from "the universe" that they are ready to have children, and agree to start trying once they see Barney's double. In "Doppelgangers", Marshall meets a cab driver who he thinks is Barney's doppelgänger, but who turns out to be Barney in disguise. Lily then sees a pretzel vendor and thinks he is the double; in reality, the vendor looks nothing like Barney but they begin to try to have children as Marshall claims it means that Lily is subconsciously ready to have kids. Barney's real doppelgänger, Doctor John Stangel, is revealed in "Bad News". He is a fertility doctor, making Lily uncomfortable as she is convinced he is Barney in disguise.
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Portrayed by Cristin Milioti, the Mother is the title character of the series; Ted's narration of the series is based around how he met her. While several clues about the Mother are revealed throughout the series (including the story of the yellow umbrella), she is not fully seen until the season eight finale, "Something New". Season 9 reveals more about the Mother through several flashforwards throughout the season and the 200th episode, "How Your Mother Met Me", which shows the years 2005 through 2013 from her perspective. In that episode, it is revealed that her boyfriend Max died on her 21st birthday and that she refrained from dating in the years following; her first boyfriend after Max, Louis, proposed to her the night before Barney and Robin's wedding, but she rejected him, allowing herself to move on.
Ted is shown meeting The Mother in the series finale at the Farhampton train station following Barney and Robin's wedding. They date, get engaged, and have two children called Luke and Penny. In the original ending of the show, The Mother is shown to have been deceased in 2024. Many fans of the show had become emotionally attached to The Mother.[2] In many scenes throughout the show, it was shown how incredibly perfect Ted and Tracy were for each other and how nice she was to everyone. Her death in the series finale was met with considerable dissatisfaction by many viewers.[3][4]
A petition was started, aiming to rewrite and reshoot the finale. The petition received over 20,000 signatures and considerable online news coverage.[5][6] An alternate ending was released in the ninth season DVD.[7] In the alternate ending, Tracy is still living when Ted is telling the story in 2030.[8] In the video, future Ted is heard saying, "...When I think how lucky I am to wake up next to your mom every morning, I can't help but be amazed how easy it all really was...", indirectly stating that The Mother is alive. The video ends right after the train passes at Farhampton station and credits start rolling, implying that Ted never went back to Robin as he lived a successful married life with Tracy.[8][9]
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Portrayed by Hilary Duff,[10] Sophie is a hopeless romantic, originally searching for her "soulmate" and often discussing destiny controlling things. Though believing in true love, she is unaware of her biological father due to her "party girl" mother having slept with random men. Sophie is also the show's narrator from the future, portrayed by Kim Cattrall,[10] as she tells her son a very long story, with the premise of explaining the events that followed after she met his father.
Portrayed by Christopher Lowell,[10] Jesse is an aspiring musician who works as an Uber driver and music teacher, who has become an internet meme after being left by his ex-girlfriend Meredith after a failed marriage proposal. He lives with Sid in Ted, Marshall and Lily's old apartment, and is presented as a possible candidate as Future Sophie's son's father.
Portrayed by Francia Raisa,[10] Valentina is an impulsive assistant-stylist who is also Sophie's best friend and roommate and Charlie's love interest.
Portrayed by Suraj Sharma,[10] Sid is Jesse's best friend and roommate who owns a bar. He is introduced as engaged to his long-distance girlfriend Hannah, and is presented as a possible candidate as Future Sophie's son's father.
Portrayed by Tom Ainsley,[10] Charlie is a British aristocrat who abandons his inheritance to follow his love interest Valentina to New York after meeting her at London Fashion Week (having previously done the same with three other women). He later moves in with Ellen and the two become roommates, before being hired by Sid as a bartender. He was presented as a possible candidate as Future Sophie's son's father, but instead has a child with Valentina.
Portrayed by Tien Tran,[10] Ellen is Jesse's adoptive sister who moves to New York City to find romance after her divorce from her wife, later moving in with Charlie, with the two becoming roommates. She owns a produce farm.
Penny and Luke are Ted's children, teenagers in 2030 as Ted narrates the story of how he met their mother. Penny is portrayed by Lyndsy Fonseca while Luke is portrayed by David Henrie. Georgina Bays, the daughter of Carter Bays, has portrayed Ted's daughter as an infant. Penny and Luke as young children are portrayed by Katie Silverman and Dexter Cross in "Rally".
The names of Ted's children were unknown until "Unpause". Before he had met their mother, Ted had repeatedly expressed the desire to name them Luke and Leia. The children initially appear only in the framing narrative, though Penny appears as an infant in "Trilogy Time", "Lobster Crawl" and "Unpause". Both Penny and Luke appear as young children in "Rally", when they greet their parents on New Year's Day in 2022.
Since the actors playing Ted's children were going to age quickly, stock footage of them was shot in 2006, to be used in later episodes. Additionally, footage for the series finale was shot and the actors were made to sign non-disclosure agreements;[11] Fonseca said in 2013 that she did not "remember what the secret was", although Henrie thought he remembered.[12] A season nine promotional video was filmed with the same actors, now adults, joking that they have been listening to Ted tell the story for eight years, and was first shown at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con.[13]
Marvin Wait-for-it Eriksen[14] is the son of Lily and Marshall. In "Challenge Accepted", Lily discovers she is pregnant after a long-running storyline of Marshall and Lily trying to have kids. Marvin is born in "The Magician's Code – Part 1"; Marshall arrives just in time for the birth. Barney helped Marshall arrive in the hospital, in return for choosing the middle name of the baby: "Wait-for-it". Marvin appears in many episodes after that, usually causing Marshall and Lily to become stressed and sleep deprived. In "Who Wants to Be a Godparent?", Ted, Barney and Robin all become godparents of Marvin. "Bedtime Stories" is based around Marvin going to sleep.
Marvin has been played by twins,[15] and several actors have been credited as playing him; Jake Elliott, August Maturo and Spencer Ralston have played the part of Marvin during various flashforwards. Craig Thomas said that they were "tending to the fact that [Marshall and Lily] have a baby more than other shows have", although Marvin "doesn't take over the show."[15]
Played by Marshall Manesh, Ranjit is a cab driver from Bangladesh. He drives the main characters around during several significant moments of their lives; for instance, he drives Marshall and Lily in a limo shortly after they are married and helps Ted with a "two-minute date" in "Ten Sessions". In "The Sexless Innkeeper", he and his wife Falguni go on a double date with Marshall and Lily, although they do not enjoy it. He also appears in episodes such as "The Limo", "Rabbit or Duck", "The Goat" and "Three Days of Snow". In "Gary Blauman", Future Ted reveals that Ranjit became rich through investments and bought a limo service.
Ranjit is the only recurring character to appear in all nine seasons.
Played by Joe Nieves, Carl is the bartender at MacLaren's, which is frequented by the main characters. He manages the bar.[16] Carl eventually has a son who helps him at MacLaren's.
Joe Nieves received the part after the scene he was supposed to be in was cut from the pilot but no one had told him, and he turned up on set in a police officer costume. As no one wanted to tell him that they had cut his scene, they gave him the role of Carl.[16] Carl is named after one of the assistants to the producers.[17]
Played by Charlene Amoia, Wendy is a waitress from MacLaren's bar. Characterized as sweet and somewhat naive, she is well liked by the main characters. Barney once had a brief relationship with her.[18] It is also revealed in "Garbage Island" that Wendy the Waitress falls in love and is later married to Marshall's ex-co worker Meeker (Daniel G. O'Brien), who found out at the time they both hate Marshall after his "Go Green" fiasco. She and Meeker have three kids.
Played by Ashley Williams. A baker at The Buttercup Bakery, Victoria meets Ted in "The Wedding" at the wedding reception of Ted's friends, for whom Victoria had baked the wedding cake. They agree to spend the evening together anonymously in order to preserve the memory of the night, despite their attraction to one another. However, Ted quickly finds her and they begin an intense romantic relationship. The relationship is complicated when Victoria is offered a cooking fellowship in Germany and they attempt to remain together in a long-distance relationship. However, Ted kisses Robin and they break up.
Victoria reappears in Ted's life five years later, when she is catering the Architect's Ball that Ted is attending at the end of "The Naked Truth". During their reunion, Ted apologizes for cheating on her and she accepts his apology. However, he becomes upset when he learns that she began dating Klaus, whom she met not long after arriving in Germany, almost immediately after they broke up. During their ensuing argument, they begin to remember what they loved about their relationship together and end up kissing. Victoria responds to the kiss with the revelation that Klaus intends to propose to her soon and she and Ted part on amicable terms, though she also warns Ted that his existing relationships with Robin and Barney are stopping him from finding his true love.
In "The Magician's Code", Ted, having recently reconciled with Robin, follows her suggestion to contact Victoria in hopes of learning if she ever got married. When they meet, Ted is stunned to see that Victoria has secretly run away from her wedding to Klaus. Recalling his own experience at being left at the altar by Stella, Ted attempts to have Victoria return to her wedding to at least inform Klaus that she has run away, but they learn that Klaus has also run away from the wedding, as he has realized that he and Victoria are not meant to be together. Ted and Victoria's renewed relationship is short-lived; when Ted proposes to her, she presents an ultimatum: he must end his friendship with Robin to be with her. Since he is unwilling to give up his friendship with Robin, Victoria breaks up with him. She is later revealed to have returned to Germany and sends him Robin's locket, which she had taken with her.
Bays and Thomas planned to have Victoria as a backup Mother in case CBS decided to cancel the series after season 2.[19][20] Another possible storyline was Williams wearing a fat suit to portray Victoria having become, according to Bays, "enormously fat" because of her baking career.[21] Victoria was described as Ted's best girlfriend by People magazine.[22]
Played by Suzie Plakson, Judy Eriksen is the mother of Marshall. Married to the late Marvin Eriksen, she has three children: Marvin, Marcus and Marshall. She lives in St. Cloud, Minnesota and is known to have a tense, sometimes adversarial relationship with Lily, leaving Marshall torn as he loves Lily, but has trouble understanding how she could dislike his mother. In "The Over-Correction," she begins a sexual relationship with Lily's father, Mickey.
Played by Wayne Brady, James is Barney's gay African-American half-brother; they are very alike and act as each other's "wingmen", but this all changes when James meets Tom, his future husband. Barney tries to stop his brother from marrying but changes his mind when he learns that they are adopting a baby. James marries Tom and they have a son named Eli.[23] In the season 6 episode "Cleaning House," James finds out his father is Sam Gibbs after he and Barney discover an unsent letter that their mother Loretta addressed to him. At the end of "The Rebound Girl", it is revealed that James and Tom have adopted an infant daughter named Sadie. In "Coming Back", James announces that he is getting a divorce after Tom discovered him cheating. Robin wins James' wedding ring in "The Poker Game" and refuses to give it back because James has been saying that she and Barney should not get married. Barney initially stands by his brother, but then realizes that James' selfishness is what caused his own marriage to fail. James reveals that Gary Blauman was one of the guys that he cheated on Tom with in "Gary Blauman". Future Ted explains to his children that James and Tom did eventually get back together, and raised Eli and Sadie as a happy family.
Played by Jennifer Morrison. One of Ted's girlfriends. Ted first meets Zoey when she was an activist protesting the destruction of a historic New York building, the Arcadian, in "Architect of Destruction". At first Ted is attracted to her, even though he is the architect responsible for the building's demolition. However, when she discovers this fact, she turns on him, and the two develop a mutually antagonistic relationship. In "Natural History", Ted meets her rich husband, who calls himself The Captain, at a black-tie event at a museum. Zoey spends Thanksgiving hanging out with the gang in "Blitzgiving" because her husband is spending it with his daughter; surprisingly, it is Ted who convinces the group to let her do so, after deducing that she is hurting by her stepdaughter's rejection of her. Zoey is (by marriage) a van Smoot, whose family is shown to have owned the mansion in which Marshall and Lily were married,[24] and an apartment in the Alberta building.[25] In "Oh Honey", Zoey divorces the Captain and gets together with Ted. However, they break up in "Landmarks" due to tensions caused by the Arcadian. Zoey appears in "Challenge Accepted", where she unsuccessfully tries reuniting with Ted. In "Gary Blauman", Future Ted reveals that Zoey continued campaigning for various causes.
Played by Ellen D. Williams, Patrice is a World Wide News employee, often shouted down by Robin who is annoyed by her efforts to be best friends. In season 8, Patrice joins Barney's "The Robin" play by pretending to date him. In "Gary Blauman", it is shown that Patrice later moves on to becoming a radio talk show host.
Played by Bill Fagerbakke, Marvin Eriksen is: Judy's husband; the father of Marvin, Marcus and Marshall; father-in-law of Lily; grandfather of Marshall and Lily's three children and Marcus and Sarah's children, Marcus Jr. and Martin. He was very close to Marshall and the rest of his family prior to his passing in early 2011. After "Last Words", set at Marvin's funeral, Carter Bays stated that they intended to bring back Bill Fagerbakke as Marshall's father in future episodes during flashbacks.[26][27]
Played by Nazanin Boniadi, Nora is an English co-worker of Robin's who meets Barney the day before Valentine's Day. Though he is interested in her, Barney is reluctant to admit it, despite Robin's encouragement. During his first formal date with Nora, she reveals her wishes to eventually marry and settle down and invites him to meet her parents, both of which Barney accepts as things he wants. At the end of their date, however, he tells her that his words were a lie and criticizes Nora's dreams, which seemingly ends the relationship. Though Barney is convinced that he was lying to her, he later realizes that he does want to marry and settle down. He gets a second chance with Nora, when he convinces her that he will be honest in their relationship. They start dating but break up in "Tick Tick Tick" after Barney confesses to cheating on her with Robin.
Played by Chris Elliott, Mickey Aldrin is Lily's father. Obsessed with attempting to launch Aldrin Games, his unsuccessful board game creator business, he was frequently absent, distant, and unreliable throughout her childhood. He and Lily did not have a close relationship during the first few seasons. As the series progressed he gradually redeems himself. He eventually moves in with Marshall and Lily at Lily's grandparents' home in Long Island. Once there he refuses to leave his childhood home, despite being unwelcome; he does eventually agree to leave at Lily and Marshall's insistence, although they let him stay after he makes pancakes for them. From then on his hobbies make him an occasional nuisance in the household, eventually accidentally burning the house down after Marshall and Lily had returned to the apartment. This leads to him joining them in Manhattan and despite Lily's expectations, he proves very helpful in looking after his grandson Marvin W. Eriksen. He reveals that he had taken much better care of Lily prior to her going to school; only when she started kindergarten and he found himself at loose ends did he go to the racetrack on a whim, where he developed a gambling addiction.
Played by Robert Belushi, Linus is a bartender at the Farhampton Inn. Lily pays him $100 to make sure she always has a drink in her hand during the weekend of Barney and Robin's wedding. Throughout season 9, he is constantly seen handing her drinks followed by Lily saying "Thank you, Linus." It is revealed in "Daisy" that these drinks are non-alcoholic as Lily correctly suspects she is pregnant.
Played by Sarah Chalke, Stella is Ted's dermatologist, who removes his ill-advised butterfly tattoo. He attempts to convince her to date him over the course of the episode "Ten Sessions". Stella initially refuses, wanting to focus on her daughter Lucy, but eventually agrees to go on a two-minute lunch date. They start dating soon after. In the last episode of season three, Ted proposes to Stella, and in the season four premiere, she accepts. In "Shelter Island", after her sister's wedding falls apart, Ted and she agree to take over the wedding. She ends up leaving Ted at the altar and getting back together with Tony, her ex-boyfriend and father of Lucy. She later appears in "Right Place Right Time", where she is still with Tony.
Played by Kal Penn, Kevin is originally introduced as Robin's therapist but later becomes her boyfriend. She cheats on him with Barney, although he never discovers this. It is unclear, however, if Kevin correctly assumes what happened when saying, "something that needs to be said, doesnt always need to be heard[28]." He proposed to Robin before she told him of her infertility. He still wanted to marry her, suggesting they could adopt or use a surrogate, but when Robin made it clear to him that she did not want to have any children, they broke up. In "Gary Blauman", Future Ted says that Kevin ended up with Jeanette.
Played by Becki Newton, Quinn is a romantic interest for Barney in season 7, as she has a scheming personality similar to him. In season 7, episode 18, she tells Barney that at the strip club, she goes by the name Karma. Barney becomes interested in her without realizing she is a stripper at the Lusty Leopard, despite being a frequent patron. Quinn initially scams Barney out of a large amount of money, but gives Barney a chance. Due to Barney's insecurity, she quits her job as a stripper and accommodates most of his demands regarding his apartment when she moves in with him. Barney proposes to her in "The Magician's Code". However, due to their inability to trust one another, they break up in "The Pre-Nup". Quinn makes a brief return in "The Bro Mitzvah" as a stripper hired for Barney's bachelor party, much to his chagrin.
Played by Alexis Denisof, Alyson Hannigan's real life husband, Sandy is a narcissistic lecherous anchorman. He debuts as Robin's colleague at Metro News One and spares no opportunity to ask her out. Ted and Marshall make fun of him during his segments. He resigns from the network to take up a job at CNN but recommends Robin to succeed him as lead anchor. Sandy and Robin cross paths again in season 6 as colleagues at World Wide News, where he is often seen hitting on young female interns. Sandy's inappropriate behavior ruins his career in the US and he does not change his ways even as he anchors a news show in Russia.
Marcus Eriksen is one of Marshall's brothers, known for pranking Marshall. He and the rest of his brothers often played roughly with each other. In "Who Wants to Be a Godparent?", Marcus left his wife and two children for his dream job of being a bartender. Marcus is often seen at family events such as his father's funeral.
Played by Frances Conroy, Loretta is Barney's mother. Prior to her first proper appearance, she appeared from the neck down voiced by Megan Mullally in "Single Stamina" and "Showdown". Loretta had a very promiscuous lifestyle and neither Barney nor James knows who his real father is until they are adults. She also tends to tell ridiculous lies to her sons to cover up bad news, such as saying Barney's father is Bob Barker. So that his mother would not worry about him, Barney hired actors to pretend to be his family; when he is forced to reveal the truth in "The Stinsons", Loretta is not upset. She returns in "Cleaning House": the gang go to her home as she is planning to move. Though she had hidden the identities of James and Barney's fathers so that she could be both mother and father to them, she eventually discloses who both of their fathers are.
Played by Bob Odenkirk, Arthur is a boss at Goliath National Bank and was also Marshall's boss at Nicholson, Hewitt & West. Due to his habit of screaming at his employees, he is nicknamed "Artillery Arthur." He has a dog named Tugboat.
Played by Cristine Rose. Virginia is Ted's mother, married to Alfred for 30 years before they get divorced. She marries Clint in "Home Wreckers". Barney jokes on several occasions that he had sex with Virginia, although it is revealed in "Unpause" that they only shared a kiss.
Played by Sherri Shepherd. When she, Marshall and Marvin get kicked off a plane, they spend the first half of season 9 travelling together. Marshall gets to know Daphne through the journey; she has a daughter and is worried that she is not a good mother.
Played by Joe Manganiello, Brad is a friend of Marshall from law school. Brad and Marshall begin to hang out after they both discover they are single, following breakups with their respective girlfriends, Kara and Lily. The bromance between Brad and Marshall becomes increasingly awkward after they go to brunch and a musical together. Eventually, Brad gets back together with his girlfriend. He attends Marshall's bachelor party and wedding and gets punched in the face by Barney when he tries to kiss Robin, although he bears no hard feelings. He appears in "The Stamp Tramp", claiming to be in need of help but later revealing that he is the opposition lawyer in a big court case, putting Marshall's job at risk. The trial takes place in "Twelve Horny Women" and Gruber Pharmaceuticals are found guilty but only have to pay $25,000, because the judge is biased due to his attraction to Brad; this leads to Marshall becoming a judge, as he realizes that is the position from which to effect the most change. His image appears in a flash forward in "Rally" when a news report shows him leading in exit polls over Marshall for New York State Supreme Court Judge in 2020.
Played by Kyle MacLachlan, George van Smoot (known by his nickname "The Captain") is introduced as Zoey Pierson's husband at a gala at the Natural History Museum. He is obsessed with boats, an interest that Zoey does not share. Despite the Captain's frightening demeanor, such as the murderous look he has in his eyes, he proves to be generous, if rather strange; he is also seen to be somewhat shy because of the apparent age gap between him and most of Zoey's peers. While he comes to like Ted, Ted's fear of the Captain is exacerbated by the fact that Ted and Zoey are attracted to one another. Zoey eventually divorces the Captain and leaves him for Ted. A year after Ted breaks up with Zoey, the Captain unexpectedly runs into Ted, Robin and Lily at a gallery show. He reveals that he holds no hard feelings for Ted regarding his divorce with Zoey. During the gallery show, Lily's advice about artwork, while initially dismissed by the Captain, proves to be invaluable and the Captain ends up hiring Lily as his new art consultant in "The Ashtray". He announces his intention to move to Rome for a year and asks for Lily and her family to accompany him; following a fight between Marshall and Lily, they do live in Italy for a year. The Captain has three Olympic gold medals in fencing and ends up engaged to Becky.
Played by Michael Trucco, Nick is a love interest of Robin. They originally met in a clothes shop and later came face-to-face in a bar called "Hopeless". Each had a crush on the other. Although Nick was supposed to be a recurring character in season 7, Michael Trucco could not return as he was playing Justin Patrick in the second season of Fairly Legal. Instead, he began dating Robin in season 8. Nick is characterized as overly emotional and unintelligent, and in "Splitsville", Robin begins to get annoyed by these traits (Nick's groin injury prevents the two from having sex, so she begins to notice his personality more). They break up in the same episode, after Barney makes an impassioned speech about being in love with Robin; although he tells her that he was lying, it is later revealed he was telling the truth.
Played by Eric Braeden in "Happily Ever After" and Ray Wise in all other appearances, Robin Charles Scherbatsky Sr. is an overbearing father who wanted a son. When the baby (Robin) turned out to be a girl, he raises her as a son, teaching her stereotypically male activities such as hunting. Robin Sr expresses his disappointment of his daughter over the years; he has very little contact with her, becoming married without telling her. The two eventually reconcile.
Played by Bryan Callen. He works for Goliath National Bank as Barney and Marshall's co-worker and fires Ted when he designed an Employee Termination Room that was too "inspired".
Played by David Burtka, Neil Patrick Harris' real life husband, Scooter is Lily's old high-school boyfriend and is obsessed with her. They broke up during their high-school prom after being in a relationship for a long time. Scooter appears over several seasons, during which he fails to win back Lily at her wedding, works as a waiter in a fine-dining restaurant and as a cafeteria server at her school. A flashback shows that Lily intimidated Scooter into hanging out with her during her days as a bully in 1994. Scooter eventually marries Lily's doppelganger, Jasmine the stripper.
Played by Taran Killam, Cobie Smulders' real life husband, Gary was Barney and Marshall's coworker until he quit, having snapped after being shouted at during a board meeting. In "The Chain of Screaming", Barney claims his life went downhill after being fired and that he eventually died. However, Blauman appears in later episodes; he inexplicably starts hanging out with Bilson when the two of them start working for Goliath National Bank. In "Gary Blauman", it is revealed that he slept with Barney's brother James, in an affair leading to Tom and James nearly getting divorced.
Played by Ben Koldyke, Don is Robin's boyfriend and co-anchor in season 5, despite Robin originally disliking him. Robin decides to move into his apartment in "Twin Beds". She is offered a job in Chicago but decides to stay for him. When offered the same job, Don accepts. In "Unfinished", a drunken Robin is shown calling him, leaving death threats as she never got over their breakup.
Played by Abby Elliott, Jeanette is the last person Ted dates before The Mother. Clinically insane, she is a New York Police Department officer who stalks Ted for roughly a year and a half after he was featured in a magazine, Jeanette is described by the gang as "crazy" after she messes up Ted's apartment, destroys Barney's Playbook and throws Robin's locket off a bridge. It is revealed in "Gary Blauman" that she ended up with Kevin the psychiatrist.
Played by Laura Bell Bundy, Becky is Robin's replacement co-anchor for Don Frank at the morning talk show Come On, Get Up New York!, and starts to eclipse Robin in the show. Her hyperactivity and cheerfulness wins over the production staff, but Robin dislikes her as she fails to remain professional on camera. In "Canning Randy", she does a commercial about boats, giving her the nickname "Boats Boats Boats". She marries The Captain.
Played by Roger Bart. He is the front desk clerk at the Farhampton Inn, who works there until at least 2024.[29] He is unintentionally condescending to Ted upon learning he is single. When The Mother shows up at the inn in the middle of the night, he gives her a key to Robin's mother's empty room.
Played by Michael Gross. Alfred is Ted's father, married to Virginia for 30 years before they get divorced. He shares similar views on romance to Ted, being described as a "head-in-the-clouds romantic" by Virginia.
Claudia and Stuart are played by Virginia Williams and Matt Boren. Claudia and Stuart are about to get married when they make their first appearance. While Stuart is an easy-going, sensitive, and plain-looking man, Claudia is an attractive, blunt and somewhat high-strung woman; despite their differences, they have a good relationship. As their wedding approaches, Claudia becomes increasingly stressed and refuses to allow Ted to bring Robin as a last-minute date to the wedding. Ted persuades Stuart, behind Claudia's back, to allow him to bring Robin. Claudia and Stuart argue over this and break up before the wedding, although Marshall manages to convince them to get back together. However, as the show progresses, it is shown that Stuart and Claudia have a toxic and unstable relationship.
The couple make minor recurring appearances afterward. Stuart attends Marshall's bachelor party in "Bachelor Party", where it is suggested he regrets marrying Claudia. He also briefly appears in "Intervention". In "Baby Talk", he and Claudia are seen to have a daughter named Esther. Stuart makes another appearance in "The Over-Correction", where Ted blames him for failing to return Ted's red cowboy boots. In "The Poker Game", Stuart claims to have given Marshall and Lily a coffeemaker for their wedding, when it was really Ted's present. In that episode it is also revealed that Stuart has been cheating on Claudia.
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