Hilary Duff finds a new way to romance in ‘How I Met Your Father’

While both “Mother” and “Father” have that look-back approach to telling a story, the two are not related.

Aptaker says it’s a “standalone sequel,” which means it’s set in the same world, but it’s really its own series. Pamela Fryman, who directed most of “Mother’s” episodes, is a producer on the new one and made sure it had “little rewards” for people who loved the original. “I think that will satisfy people who never have seen ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and it will satisfy people who are madly in love with the show.”

“It’s for everybody,” Fryman says.

To track her years on the original, Fryman kept binders with photos from key moments.

“You see the growth,” Duff says.

For the former “Lizzie McGuire” and “Younger” star, “Father” is a chance to remind viewers life doesn’t unfold like a television show.

Sophie, the character she plays in “Father,” “isn’t quite where she thought she would be,” Duff says. “She’s flailing a little bit and everyone around her is helping boost her up. I can’t tell you how many friends I have that are in this space, because I’m a completely different space.”

Married and the mother of three, Duff has been in show business since she was a child. She went through a teen idol phase, embarking on a recording career, and then a new life in films and fashion.