SUMMARY
  • Alyson Hannigan famously played the role of Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother.
  • During the shooting of the pilot season of the show, an incident assured Hannigan of the show's success.
  • The show runners found a great way to cover up for Hannigan's absence from the show's fourth season.

American actress and TV show host, Alyson Hannigan, has been in the hearts of fans for her work in How I Met Your Mother, American Pie, and Angel. She has won accolades like Saturn Award, Teen Choice Award, Young Hollywood Award and People’s Choice Award for her phenomenal work, but the role she is most known for remains Lily Aldrin.

A still from How I Met Your Mother | Source: CBS
A still from How I Met Your Mother | Source: CBS

The 50-year-old actress revealed something very interesting while she was with the team of American sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. The famous butterfly effect from chaos theory worked for the actress in the best way possible as a swarm of butterflies played the role of a good omen for Lily Aldrin. 

Alyson Hannigan Revealed How She Knew How I Met Your Mother Was Going to Be Worth It

Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel in How I Met Your Mother
Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel in How I Met Your Mother | Source: CBS

Craig Thomas and Carter Bays’ sitcom, How I Met Your Mother aired from 2005 to 2014 with 208 episodes distributed in 9 seasons. The show’s casting includes talented names like Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, and Cristin Milioti. The actors often shared fun time while on the set that made the shooting more exciting. 

However, what Hannigan shared stands out from everything else. While the cast was sharing respective pinch-me moments, the American Pie actress shared a very interesting incident that occurred while shooting. She revealed that once she saw hundreds of beautiful butterflies outside that made her feel positive about the sitcom’s future.

In an interview at the PaleyFest (via The Paley Center for Media), she said:

It was so beautiful and I was just like really at that moment thought well that if that’s not a sign, I don’t know what it is.

Looking at the swarm of butterflies, somewhere deep down, Hannigan was confident that her show is going to impress the audiences as well as the critics. She was absolutely right with her prediction. 

Why Was Alyson Hannigan Not A Part Of How I Met Your Mother Season 4 Despite Her Fan Following?

Alyson Hannigan in How I Met Your Mother
Alyson Hannigan in How I Met Your Mother | Source: CBS

Alyson Hannigan earned a lot of fame after portraying Lily Aldrin throughout How I Met Your Mother. Fans from all around the world loved her work and appreciated her whole-heartedly for what she brought on the plate. However, despite so much bet on her, she was briefly absent from the season 4 of the show. 

To all the fans wondering about the reason behind her temporary absence, maternity leave is the answer. Hannigan missed a few episodes of season 4 because she was pregnant and not in a position to shoot during the period (via Screen Rant). 

The showrunners were however very smart in justifying Hannigan’s brief absence. Before she was supposed to take the maternity leave, the show created a scene where Barney cracked a joke so offensive that Lily walked away in disgust. The showrunners hence managed Hannigan’s maternity leave by showing that Lily was furious about Barney’s joke and was adamant about returning. 

How I Met Your Mother is available for streaming on Netflix.

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