It's been more than six years since How I Met Your Mother wrapped up for good, but despite both a spinoff and a reunion with all of the main players being floated numerous times, neither have been given the greenlight.
Still, that hasn't stopped us from thinking about all of the little details that make it the supremely popular show that it continues to be, and other tidbits that you might not know about the CBS sitcom.
These facts are LEGEN – wait for it*
The kids' scenes were filmed right at the beginning
All of the scenes with Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie, who played Ted's kids, were filmed in the first two seasons.
It's not filmed in New York
Like Friends, HIMYM did not shoot in the big apple, but at a studio in LA.
Jim Parsons auditioned for the role of Barney
Chatting on Live with Kelly and Michael, The Big Bang Theory star said: "It was one of the stranger experiences of my life because you know how it is to audition for things – they come out with character breakdowns and stuff, and on this one, it specifically said, 'Barney, a big lug of a guy.' And I remember thinking, I got it and was like, 'Who the hell looked at me and thinks 'big lug of a guy?'
"And it wasn't offensive, I thought, 'This is silly.'"
Scott Foley was first choice for the part of Ted
Foley (Whiskey Cavalier, Scandal) was reportedly offered the role but said no, opening the door for Josh Radnor.
Cobie Smulders wasn't first in line for the role of Robin
Show creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas revealed during a Reddit AMA that they wanted Jennifer Love Hewitt to play Robin Scherbatsky.
Thomas wrote: "Jennifer Love Hewitt did The Ghost Whisperer instead of HIMYM!"
There was a back-up mother
Cancellation was always a possibility, as it is with any show, and there was a time when Ted's ex Victoria the baker was lined up to be the mother.
Chatting at a Television Critics Association panel, the creators said (via Deadline) that the series was "on the bubble" in its early stages, adding: "we both kind of agreed: Ted meeting Victoria – happened at the end of Episode 12…It would have been Victoria, probably."
Thomas added: "Ashley Williams reading this, like, 'Motherf**ker! That would have been awesome!'"
Alyson Hannigan didn't like kissing co-star Jason Segel
Hannigan, who played Lily Aldrin, revealed that smooching Jason Segel was not as dreamy as it looked.
"I cannot stand cigarette smoke. It's like kissing an ashtray and he's trying to be polite by having gum or mints, but it doesn't help," she said.
"When we started the pilot [for the show] he was like, 'Get me to stop smoking, I'll be your best friend.' So we did this bet where he would owe me $10 every time he had a cigarette. After the first day, he owed me $200.
"So he said, 'I'm just quitting,' and he quit cold turkey for about a year. It was fantastic but then... he got stressed out and he started smoking again," she said.
The cast's real-life partners featured in the show
Cobie Smulder's husband Taran Killam played Goliath National Bank employee Gary Blauman, Alexis Denisof, who played news anchor Sandy Rivers, is married to Alyson Hannigan, and Neil Patrick Harris's real-life husband David Burtka played Scooter, Lily's ex-boyfriend.
The blue horn went to a good home
Josh Radnor took the blue horn with him, Neil Patrick Harris chose the Playbook and the booth at MacLaren's, and the three yellow umbrellas went to creators Thomas and Bays, and director Pamela Fryman.
Ted and Marshall's clock
Apart from one episode, the clock in Ted and Marshall's apartment was always set to 4:20.
Alyson Hannigan wasn't a fan of the show's ending
"I didn't think Barney should have ever gotten married," Hannigan told News.com.au.
"I liked Barney and Robin. But in my heart, I always wanted her with Ted. I just feel [Barney and Robin] shouldn't have gotten married."
She also revealed that the show's finale was shortened significantly during the editing process: "It just seemed too quick.
"Obviously it was a tear-jerker, but with all the stuff that got cut out it was too fast. You're just like, 'Wait, what happened?!'
"There was a funeral scene [that got cut], and all this stuff that I think the audience needed.
"They needed that time to process that information, instead of having it slap them in the face."
*DARY.
How I Met Your Mother is available to watch on Netflix.
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