How I Met Your Father episode 1 ends with a heartwarming tribute to actor Bob Saget, which is based on his ties to the original series. After years of notoriety as one of TV’s most iconic father figures, actor Bob Saget sadly passed away on January 9, 2022 at the age of 65. Best known for his role as Danny Tanner on Full House and its Netflix revival series Fuller House, Bob Saget’s legacy also remains close at heart for playing the future version of Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother.
Hulu’s How I Met Your Father, which is executive produced by HIMYM co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, takes a spin on the original series’ iconic storytelling formula. The series also presents plenty of in-universe connections to to its predecessors with its main characters, as revealed by How I Met Your Father’s episode 1 ending, in which Jesse and Sid are shown to be living in Ted and Marshall’s old HIMYM apartment, even equipped with their iconic swords for wall decoration. How I Met Your Father has yet to physically feature any original How I Met Your Mother actors, but one received a sweet, direct tribute at the end of its first episode.
The title card for How I Met Your Father episode 1 ends with “In loving memory of Bob Saget,” which is sure to bring tears to the HIMYM fans who heard his voice throughout each episode for nine years. While never seen on-screen, Bob Saget was cast in HIMYM as the voice of Future Ted, who narrated the events of the series while telling his children the story of how he met his wife. Considering he had previously become America’s father with his role as Danny Tanner, casting Bob Saget as HIMYM‘s Future Ted was the perfect transition to continue his calming, comforting presence by playing the show’s witty, perfectly-nuanced 2030 narrator. Considering the profound legacy that HIMYM’s cast and characters leave on How I Met Your Father’s spinoff show, it was only right that the pilot ended with a tribute to the original series’ staple voice.
Following the saddening news of Bob Saget’s death, How I Met Your Mother’s cast and crew flooded the internet with heartwarming tributes. Josh Radnor, who portrayed present-day Ted Mosby, crafted incredible praise for Bob Saget on his Twitter account, calling him the “kindest, loveliest, funniest, most supportive man.” Radnor ended his tribute by saying he’s incredibly grateful that How I Met Your Mother brought Bob Saget into his life, stating he’ll hear Saget’s voice in his head until the end of his days. How I Met Your Father’s executive producers, including HIMYM’s Bays and Thomas, also paid tribute to Saget in a statement to Variety, saying “The wit, the wisdom, and above all the kindness fans heard in Bob Saget’s voice was no act. It’s who Bob really was.”
Bob Saget’s Future Ted role on How I Met Your Mother is paralleled in How I Met Your Father by Kim Cattrall, who portrays Future Sophie. While Saget’s Ted Mosby was only heard and never seen, How I Met Your Father changed things up by revealing Cattrall’s Future Sophie on screen, cutting back to the future in 2050 throughout the episodes. This revelation makes it slightly disappointing that How I Met Your Mother’s physical Future Ted scene in 2030 was played by an aged-up Josh Radnor rather than Saget himself. While it makes sense since Radnor and Saget don’t share many physical similarities, it would have been bittersweet in How I Met Your Mother‘s ending to finally see Bob Saget on screen. As How I Met Your Father continues to carry on the legacy of HIMYM’s characters and actors, the most heartfelt connection so far has been the series’ tribute to Bob Saget.
