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Mar 2025
1h 3m

How They Got it Made [with Carter Bays, ...

Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas
About this episode

On this week's episode of How We Made Your Mother, we welcome the most special of guests: The co-creator, co-writer, co-showrunner and Executive Producer of How I Met Your Mother, the legendary... Carter Bays!


If you’ve ever wondered how you get a show on the air, especially one that is all framed as a flashback, or one that is framed as a flashback and uses even more flashbacks (and flashforwards) in that flashback, or one that is framed as a flashback and uses flashbacks and flashforwards that also has its characters evolve and change, oh and also has maybe 65 or 70 scenes per episode and sometimes will take a few minutes break from comedy to go full drama, oh and has a really long, bizarre title, oh that is being written by two guys who look young enough to be their own kids…


… well this is the podcast episode for you. This is How We Got it Made.


Later this week, look out for a bonus episode, where Carter and Craig talk about how they met, played music together, were hired by Letterman, and all their stops on the road to HIMYM.


Spoilers: In this ep of the pod, we don't dive into a specific HIMYM episode juuuuust yet. NEXT week, we begin our official episode rewatch, starting with the How I Met Your Mother pilot. Rewatch with us and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode!


CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:


Official Website (Send us your audio and written messages)

Substack (Join the mailing list, get announcements, and read more from Josh and Craig)

Instagram


HOW YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE:


Donate to our ongoing campaign to support congenital heart disease research


AND MORE:


Josh’s “Museletters” on Substack

Josh’s Official Website

Josh on Spotify

Craig’s Official Website (with links to his published writing)

Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack


THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:


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ADVERTISING INQUIRIES:

hwmym@wearebv.com


AND IN CASE IT HELPS:


00:00 The Impact of 'How I Met Your Mother' on Personal Lives

04:46 The Journey of Pitching the Show

14:54 Creating a Unique Narrative Structure

20:05 Casting Challenges and Triumphs

30:14 The Audition Experience

35:48 Creating Robin Scherbatsky

44:09 The Pressure of Network Tests

49:30 Listener Stories and Reflections

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