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How I Met Your Father, the 2021 spinoff of the popular show How I Met Your Mother is now filming. The show’s fans, who patiently waited for seven years, through rumors and unsuccessful attempts, for a HIMYM spinoff, have been rewarded. Excitement for the new show is quite high. Since How I Met Your Father’s announcement in April 2021, there have been speculations about what, if any, similarities the show will have with its predecessor. 

A recent on-set photo revealed that the show might look different from HIMYM in at least one way: we might not see Maclaren’s on the show.

Hilary Duff in a black coat from the chest up.
Hilary Duff | James Devaney/GC Images

What is Maclaren’s?

Maclaren’s is the fictional pub that became the hangout spot for Ted, Robin, Barney, Lily, and Marshall. Conveniently located beneath Ted and Marshall’s apartment, the pub, with its dimly lit, dark aesthetic was an important setting for the show. It was the sight of the group’s banter and also Barney’s infamous conquests. 

Besides its importance as a common spot for the gang to hang out, the pub also makes for interesting show trivia. Did you know that the bar is based on four different New York City bars where the show’s creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas drank?

Drawing heavily from their own lives, the creators made the show as authentic as possible. For that reason, Maclaren’s look was based upon McGee’s bar at 240 West 55th Street in New York City. 

The pub’s real and fictional appeal only grew as it featured in almost every episode of the show. While looking for similarities between the spinoff and the original show, fans speculated if How I Met Your Father would share the same hangout spot as the old cast. Those speculations can now be laid to rest.

Looks like Maclaren’s will not feature in the spinoff

To commemorate the beginning of the shoot, How I Met Your Father’s co-creator Isaac Aptaker shared a picture of Hilary Duff, who plays Sofie, and Chris Lowell, who plays Jesse, at a bar that looked nothing like Maclaren’s, TVLine reported.

The bar in the picture looked differently set up and brightly lit. While talking about similarities between the two shows, it might be safe to say that Maclaren’s will not be it. Or will it?

According to TVLine, the pub could still be one of the many locations of Maclaren’s or it might even be a completely renovated version of the pub. But it will certainly not be the Upper West Side hangout we remember from HIMYM.

Related

Everything ‘How I Met Your Father’ Has In Common With ‘How I Met Your Mother’

What does the show have in common with ‘How I Met Your Mother’

Well, the show follows a similar narrative pattern as its predecessor looks at the lives of a group of friends figuring out love and life in New York City. Sophie, Duff’s character, will be seen telling her son the story of how she met his father. The story will be set in 2021 and Sophie’s friends, played by actors — Chris Lowell, Francia Raisa, Tom Ainsley, Tien Tran, and Suraj Sharma.

Recently, Josh Peck of Drake and Josh and Ashley Reyes from American Gods also joined the show as recurring cast members. Daniel Augustin is another recurring face on the show.

While the show might not be a copy of the old show, it will navigate the same topics that the old group did, but in present-day circumstances. Unlike its predecessor, How I Met Your Father will be a 10-episode series. 

When the show will premiere on Hulu is still not known, but the beginning of the shoot is always a good sign.

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