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: Nutrafol: Start your hair growth journey with Nutrafol at nutrafol.com and enter the code YOURMOTHER ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: [email protected] 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.