Is How I Met Your Father the same as How I Met Your Mother?

Almost eight years after CBS aired How I Met Your Mother’s controversial finale, the quest to find “the one” is beginning anew. Hulu’s sequel series, How I Met Your Father, centers on a whole new group of love-lost young adults experiencing the messy highs and lows of dating in New York. Although the cast is totally different, I’m here to tell you thata each How I Met Your Father character has a How I Met Your Mother counterpart, although it may not be super apparent from the start.

While How I Met Your Father has the same basic premise and structure of How I Met Your Mother, everything else is totally new. The show is still framed by an older parent telling their offspring the story of how they met their soulmate, and the episodes still revolve around a close-knit group of young adults who hang out at their local bar. But Sophie, Jesse, Sid, Valentina, Charlie, and Ellen don’t exactly jump out as obvious one-to-one recreations of Ted, Robin, Marshall, Lily, and Barney. However, the personalities of the original HIMYM characters are what made the show so silly, unique, and emotional, so while the new characters have unique personalities of their own, fans probably can’t resist trying to figure out which newbie is the counterpart to their OG fave.

The comparisons aren’t super tight, but fans will definitely see some inspirations from HIMYM’s core cast.

1. Sophie is Ted Mosby

Much like Ted was the beating heart of HIMYM, Sophie is at the center of everything in How I Met Your Father. Both characters are hopeless romantics who are set on finding “the one,” no matter how many bad dates or failed relationships it takes. Sophie seems to be a bit cheerier than the more self-pitying Ted, but their goals and mindset are the same.

2. Jesse is Robin Scherbatsky

Just as Ted seemed to find his perfect match in Robin, Sophie may have found the one in Jesse. Both Jesse and Robin are sarcastic, career-oriented, and they love a good drink. Their biggest similarity, though, is that they are both totally averse to the idea of marriage. Robin always put her job first, and Jesse vowed to never get married after his ex publicly rejected his proposal.

3. Sid is Marshall Eriksen

Anyone would be lucky to have a sweet, supportive, but still goofy friend like Marshall or Sid. The same way Marshall kicked off HIMYM by proposing to Lily, Sid proposed to Hannah in the first episode of How I Met Your Father. Like Marshall, Sid is a long-term relationship kind of guy, and while he may not be on the dating scene anymore, he’s still happy to lend an ear to his buds and give some advice... whether it’s helpful or not.

4. Valentina is Lily Aldrin

Lily may seem like a sweetie on the outside, but she was never afraid to let out her inner rage throughout HIMYM’s run. Likewise, Valentina is the group’s go-to person when stuff needs to get done. She doesn’t mince her words, always tells it like it is, and will immediately come down on anyone who tries to hurt her friends, just like Lily.

5. Charlie and Ellen are Barney Stinson

Did you think just one character could embody Barney Stinson’s awesomeness? How I Met Your Father doesn’t really have an obvious Barney counterpart, but both Charlie and Ellen have attributes that made the original show’s resident playboy so legen — wait for it — dary. Charlie’s daddy issues, charm, and penchant for high-end suits are 100% Barney, but he’s much more unassuming and is not a playboy like Barney. On the other hand, Ellen is the group’s quirky oddball who randomly found her tribe by running into them at a bar, just like Barney. Obviously, Ellen’s social anxiety is the complete opposite of Barney’s extreme self-confidence, but when Ellen loosened up at the club, her first move was to hit on every single woman there. Ellen definitely has an inner Barney just waiting to get out.

How I Met Your Father releases new episodes each Tuesday on Hulu.

Warning: contains spoilers. 

And the story begins!

The first four episodes of How I Met Your Father, starring Hilary Duff, Josh Peck and Kim Cattrall, dropped on Hulu on Jan. 18, and with it, a surprise we didn't see coming. The How I Met Your Mother sequel has something very specific in common with the original series: part of the story takes place in the old apartment of Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor).

At the end of the pilot episode, we learn that Chris Lowell and Suraj Sharma's characters, Jesse and Sid, live in the iconic 4D apartment located in the Upper West Side and we are living for this Easter egg.

"Wow, I love your place," Sophie (Duff) says as she walks into the living room.  

"Thanks, it was a total score," Jesse replies. "We got it from this old married couple who posted it on the Wesleyan [University] alumni group. We even got them to leave their swords."

Fans of the original series will recall that Ted, Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) all attended and met at Wesleyan. 

When Jesse mentions the "old married couple," he is referring to Marshall and Lily. In the season finale of How I Met Your Mother, Marshall and Lily, who were living in the apartment at the time, become pregnant with their third child and decide to give up the apartment. But of course, before they do, they throw an amazing Halloween and "Goodbye Apartment" party.

As far as the swords go, back in season one, Marshall and Ted had a sword fight to determine who would keep the apartment when Marshall and Lily got married. But the duel quickly came to an end after Marshall fell and accidentally ruined Lily's dress.

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Though the shows share an apartment, they are very different, according to HIMYF star Francia Raisa. In an exclusive interview with E! News, the 33-year-old actress said How I Met Your Father is "its own" show.

"Now it's from a female perspective," she continued. "What I love is these females are their own women, that are inspired with their careers. Yes, love is a big part but what I love about Sophie (Duff) is she's not willing to change herself too much for anyone else, and if she does, she's quick to come back. And I love the friendship between them."

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