In some of the weirdest casting news in a while, EW reports that indie film darling Greta Gerwig is set to star in How I Met Your Dad, the upcoming spin-off series to CBS’s hit show How I Met Your Mother. Gerwig will play Sally, who slowly tells the tale of meeting her partner in flashback, and is described as “a female Peter Pan who has never grown up and has no idea of where she’s going in life. She has just figured out that she has nothing in common with her husband of less than a year. A break-up is inevitable, but Sally will find a solid circle of support in her friends and family, who are often too willing to give ‘good’ advice that can backfire badly. Meanwhile, Sally must filter out the input and decide what’s best for her.†Gerwig will also serve as a producer on the pilot, and if it gets picked up to series, she’s expected to become a writer on it as well.
Making the jump from indie film favorite to CBS sitcom star seems like an insane move on Gerwig’s part, but maybe this casting will push the spin-off into innovative territory rather than being a mutually damaging move. In addition to starring in recent comedies like Frances Ha and Arthur, Gerwig also had a recurring voice role on Adult Swim’s China, Il. Original HIMYM co-creators will serve as writers and EPs on the spin-off and will also be joined by Emily Spivey (Up All Night, SNL).