Greta Gerwig lands the lead in CBS’ ‘How I Met Your Dad’

The TV pilot season is in its early casting phases, but we already have our first genuine shocker. 
HitFix can confirm that indie film stalwart Greta Gerwig has landed the lead in CBS’ high profile “How I Met Your Mother” not-exactly-spinoff, somewhat discordantly titled “How I Met Your Dad.”
In the gender-inverted take on “HIMYM,” Gerwig will play Sally, described as “a female Peter Pan who has never grown up and has no idea of where she’s going in life.” The narrator of the story, Sally will eventually be professionally successful and find love, but she’s currently in an incompatible marriage of less than a year and trying to find her footing as a grown-up with the help of her brother, his husband and her best friend.
The pilot script was written by “How I Met Your Mother” creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, with “Up All Night” scribe Emily Spivey.
Here’s where things get interesting: Gerwig will also be a producer on “How I Met Your Dad” and also will serve as a writer should the pilot go to series. That last part is slightly important since my understanding is that Gerwig has not been brought in to do a top-to-bottom rewrite or anything like that. But she will be a writer-producer if “HIMYD” makes it to air.
Like “How I Met Your Mother,” will be a multi-cam hybrid. The pilot will shoot in Los Angeles and production will move to New York City should it go to series.
Gerwig is coming off of a Golden Globe nomination for her lead performance in “Frances Ha,” which she also wrote with Noah Baumbach.
It’s not like the “Greenberg” and “Damsels in Distress” star has been avoiding TV. She does a voice for “China, IL” and she was one of the stars of HBO’s profile for “The Corrections.”
Y’all may know my feelings on “How I Met Your Mother,” which is currently limping off into the sunset, but you may not know that “Frances Ha” was one of my five favorite movies of last year. So I’m… conflicted.
And you? Thoughts? Opinions? I know you’ve got ’em.
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