Barney Stinson is back!
How I Met Your Father Season 2 got underway on Hulu on Tuesday morning with quite a surprise for fans of How I Met Your Mother.
During the season premiere, Sophie (Hillary Duff) hit Barney’s car while driving.
It was a true shocker because the series managed to keep it under wraps until transmission, which is practically unheard of these days.
Harris previously interviewed Duff for Wondercade and was vocal about not thing Barney’s antics would work in a show in 2022.
“Barney’s antics, his overt delusions of grandeur, would likely get everyone in trouble,” he said.
“So, unless he’s changed his ways or joined a nunnery (insert an insert joke here), not sure if it’s in anyone’s best interest.”
“I’m not sure how you feel about this, but I’m pretty sure Barney would … be in jail in 2022,” Duff told him.
“Since we’re living in the world of females coming into power, I’m assuming that’s why they made [Valentina, the Barney-esque character in HIMYF] a woman!”
According to TV Line, Harris will appear in subsequent episodes of the Hulu sequel.
But, how long was the big return in the works?
HIMYF creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger told TV Line that it had been the works for some time.
“Thankfully, his relationship with [HIMYM and HIMYF director/executive producer] Pamela Fryman is so phenomenal that she was able to reach out to him and get a very quick, ‘Let’s talk about it,'” Berger said.
“We did a creative Zoom with him to talk about what we were thinking, and that was it.”
“He was game, which was so incredible for us. It was the best way we could imagine coming back.”
It’s unclear at this stage how many episodes Harris will be a part of, but we have 20 episodes this season.
What are your thoughts on the return?
Hit the comments below.
Stream new episodes of HIMYF on Tuesdays on Hulu.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.