How I Met Your Mother

Should Britney Spears Return to HIMYM?

Mandi Illuzzi — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:50:26 -0400

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Her second guest appearance gave the show a ratings boost Monday

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Britney Spears' second guest appearance as a receptionist named Abby on CBS' How I Met Your Mother aired Monday night.

"The door is still open for her to come back," co-creator Craig Thomas has said.

Spears' second appearance improved HIMYM's viewership versus the previous week (9 million compared to 8.3 million, according to overnight ratings) but was lower than her first appearance.

Check out Spears' on-set looks here.

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HIMYM Creator: Britney Spears Welcome to "Come Back" Again

Alissa R — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:40:30 -0400

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"The door is still open for her," Craig Thomas says

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Britney Spears' second appearance on How I Met Your Mother won't be her last if co-creater Craig Thomas has his way.

"When people watch Britney's second appearance on the show they'll see that the door is still open for her to come back," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

"She was better than the first time and I think the fans will enjoy it because her return answers a larger mystery set up earlier in the series," he said. "So there's a good plot reason why she's there."

Watch a preview of Spears' second appearance on the CBS sitcom – which airs tonight – here.

Don't miss Spears' recent on-set stints here.

Tell Us: Should Britney have a recurring role on HIMYM?

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Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Abby (guest star Britney Spears) realize that they have one thing in common Ñ their mutual hatred of Ted (Josh Radnor) Ñ the "couple" decides to go to the bar to flaunt their new relationship in Ted's face, on "How I Met Your Mother."

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Watch Britney Spears on How I Met Your Mother

Alissa R — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:59:42 -0400

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In her second appearance on the show, her character continues to fawn over Ted

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Britney Spears continues to go for laughs on her second appearance on CBS' How I Met Your Mother (airing Monday, May 12).

In the above clip (courtesy of Entertainment Tonight), Spears' character, the ditzy Abby, is now dating serial womanizer Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) — they even wear matching blue sweaters! But she still seems to be longing for her No. 1 crush, Ted (Josh Radnor).

"I had such a great experience the last time I was on the show that I couldn't wait to come back," Spears said earlier this week of filming. "Abby is going to have a lot of fun!"

Don't miss Spears' recent on-set stints here.

Tell Us: Is Britney a better singer of actress?

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Britney Spears Back on HIMYM Set

Mandi Illuzzi — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:12:58 -0400

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She showed up for a table reading of the script Tuesday morning

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Britney Spears arrived on the Century City, CA set of How I Met Your Mother for a table reading of the script at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The singer is set to reprise her guest role as Abby, a dorky receptionist, on the May 12th episode of the CBS sitcom.

"She is excited about going back," a Spears source told Usmagazine.com Monday. "She enjoyed the experience so much and can’t wait to do it again."

A source close to her agent, Jason Trawick, told Us: "They were very respectful and he knows she is in good hands. He admires the director and he is confident Britney will shine again."

Spears helped the show earn its highest ratings ever when she appeared on March 24 episode (watch a clip here).

Check out Spears' on-set looks here.

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Britney Spears Returning to HIMYM

Mandi Illuzzi — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:30 -0400

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"She is excited about going back," a source tells Us

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Britney Spears is returning to How I Met Your Mother.

The singer, 26, will reprise her guest role as a dorky receptionist named Abby on the May 12th episode of the CBS sitcom.

"She is excited about going back," a Spears source told Usmagazine.com. "She enjoyed the experience so much and can’t wait to do it again."

A source close to her agent, Jason Trawick, told Us: "They were very respectful and he knows she is in good hands. He admires the director and he is confident Britney will shine again."

"We're all so thrilled to have Britney joining us once again," executive producer Craig Thomas told Entertainment Tonight.

Spears helped the show earn its highest ratings ever when she appeared on March 24 episode (watch a clip here).

After her first stint on the show, she said the work was "so terrific."

"Everyone, including the cast, the crew and the producers, has been wonderful and Abby is such a fun girl to play," Spears said. "I'm having a blast!"

Check out Spears' on-set looks here.

Tell Us: Will you watch Brit on the show again?

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Sitcom Producer: Britney Spears Could Return to TV

Alissa R — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:37:19 -0400

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"We always said, 'We'll bring her back,'" says an exec for CBS' How I Met Your Mother

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Is Britney Spears headed back to the small screen?

Maybe.

Days after rumors began that she would return to CBS' How I Met Your Mother, executive producer Carter Bays spoke to the Associated Press.

"We always said, 'You know, if her character pops, we'll bring her back,'" Bays said. "I thought she was great. I was very proud of that episode."

Spears' March 24 show ended with the singer flirting with Neil Patrick Harris' character, Barney. (See a clip of the show here.)

On the following episode, he mentioned a "mystery woman" who's been sabotaging his attempts at picking up women.

Could Spears turn out to be the saboteur, the AP asks.

"Could be. There's no reason why not," Bays said, adding that actress Sarah Chalke (who starred on Spears' episode) could also come back.

See Spears' on-set looks here.

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BRITNEY SPEARS seen leaving the 'Ed Hardy' store in Los Angeles on March 4, 2008.

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Tina Fey: I Want Britney Spears on 30 Rock!

Alissa R — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:37:20 -0400

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She also says she wants Oprah Winfrey “to play my best friend”

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After Britney Spears helped CBS’ How I Met Your Mother earn its highest ratings of all time, Tina Fey says she wouldn’t mind if the pop singer popped up on her NBC sitcom 30 Rock.

“We would love to work with Britney,” Fey, 37, told reporters yesterday in a conference call. “I’ve worked with her twice on Saturday Night Live and she was very professional and nice.” (See Spears' on-set looks here.)

Fey also has her eyes set on another A-lister: Oprah Winfrey.

“I want Oprah to play my best friend,” Fey said. “I want to spend time with Oprah, and I don’t know what I need to do to make it happen.”

30 Rock returns April 10 with new episodes following the writers' strike.

Getting back to work wasn’t easy, Fey said.

“The strike was a bit like the maternity leave that I didn’t have, except for my duties on the union line,” said Fey, who has a daughter Alice, 2.

“Now my daughter is old enough to say, ‘You don’t go to work, you stay inside.’ That breaks my heart.”

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Britney Spears Wows Critics on Sitcom

Lindsay Powers — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:56:57 -0400

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“There was a sweetness to her” on How I Met Your Mother, an acting coach tells Us

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Britney Spears' sitcom comeback Monday night was met with warm reception by critics.

“She did pretty good” playing a dorky receptionist who falls for Ted (Josh Radnor) on CBS’ Hot I Met Your Mother, Charna Halpern, artistic director of Chicago’s Improv Olympic Comedy Club, tells Usmagazine.com. “There was a sweetness to her, a vulnerability.

“She looked beautiful and had screen presence,” adds Halpern, who has trained such comedians as Tina Fey. “Even when she was behind the desk and they made her look kind of homely, she was adorable.”

Her comedic timing “was good at some parts, especially in some of her reactions,” Dean Cudworth, director of the Idol Camp, tells Us.

Cudworth said the scene where she handed Ted an embarrassing self-help book he had left in the lobby “really worked because she was relaxed,” Cudworth said. “She was listening to the other characters and played off their performances with ease.”

Her role was “over the top, and she certainly went for it,” Aliza Shane, director of NYC’s Looking Glass Theater, tells Us. “Clearly, she likes being on camera, no one can argue that!”

Tell Us: Did you think Britney was funny?

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SNEAK PEEK! Britney Spears on How I Met Your Mother

Mandi Illuzzi — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:56:50 -0400

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Watch the singer play a dorky receptionist in preview clips

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Watch clips Britney Spears' guest appearance on CBS' How I Met Your Mother. The episode airs March 24.

For more on Spears' role, click here.

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Britney Spears "Talked About Clothes and Dogs" on TV Set

Alissa R — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:20:12 -0400

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"She's so sweet and funny," Alyson Hannigan tells Us

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So what was Britney Spears like on the How I Met Your Mother set?

"She was lovely," Alyson Hannigan told Usmagazine.com at the sitcom's re-launch party in West Hollywood Thursday. (The party had a St. Patrick’s Day theme, complete with Jameson Irish Whisky stations since the show will return to the air on St. Patrick’s Day.)

"She’s just a person — so sweet and funny," Hannigan added. "We just talked about our clothes and dogs, and it was surprisingly just normal."

The rest of the cast couldn't stop raving about the actress — who shot scenes Wednesday and Thursday in L.A. — either.

"She’s beautiful," actor Jason Segel told Us. "You know, I was so focused on her hair that I’m overwhelmed with adjectives! She was great and lovely."

He said he wasn't surprised that Spears nailed her role as a dorky receptionist who falls for Ted (Josh Radnor).

"She was great," Segel added. "She was better than all five of us, so I guess that says a lot."

Added Cobie Smulders, "She was very professional and her comedic timing was great!"

The cast shrugged off rumors that Alicia Silverstone turned down a role on the show after learning that Spears was on board.

"I think there was some scheduling problems or something," Smulders said, adding that Scrubs star Sarah Chalke "came in at the last second."

Neil Patrick Harris said "there’s hope" Silverstone may still appear on the show at some point.

"She’s seemed to avoid that weird actress trap of only being able to do a very limited amount of things," he told Us. "She’s gone on to do interesting theater, so you’ve got to respect her chops now.

"She’s making smart choices so if she wants to come play with us, we’d be glad to have her!"

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