Hulu’s How I Met Your Mother spin-off How I Met Your Father pays tribute to the original show’s narrator, Bob Saget.
The first two episodes premiered on Tuesday, January 18, and viewers may have noticed that the first episode ended with a title card that says, “IN LOVING MEMORY OF Bob Saget.” The actor narrated How I Met Your Mother as an older Ted Mosby for the show’s nine seasons.
How I Met Your Father executive producers Craig Thomas, Carter Bays, and Pam Fryman gave a statement to Variety about the decision to honor Saget, who died on January 9. “The wit, the wisdom, and above all the kindness fans heard in Bob Saget’s voice (as Ted Mosby in the year 2030) was no act,” they wrote. “It’s who Bob really was. And it’s how all of us in the How I Met Your Mother family will always remember him. R.I.P. to a truly legendary human. You’ll be so missed, Bob, because you were so loved.”
Josh Radnor, who starred in How I Met Your Mother as Ted Mosby, also paid tribute to the actor with a touching Twitter thread, writing, “Bob Saget was the older wiser ‘me’ for nine years on How I Met Your Mother. He was the kindest, loveliest, funniest, most supportive man. The easiest person to be around. A mensch among mensches.”
He added, “I had so much imposter syndrome when HIMYM started, thought I’d be found out, kicked off set & sent home. When I’d run into Bob on the Fox lot in those early days he’d gush over my performance & tell me how he was studying me to make sure his vocal performance felt right. This man that I’d delighted in seeing on TV for years cheering me on, letting me know I had a right to be there and playing that character... I can’t overstate how meaningful his words were. (He also, true to form, told me jokes that I cannot tell here or in polite company.)“
Saget died in Orlando, Florida while on tour. His cause of death is still unknown, but in a statement issued to CNN, Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany said, at this time, “There is no evidence of drug use or foul play.”