The US sitcom How I Met Your Mother premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. Created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, the show is presented from the perspective of Ted Mosby in 2030 ("Future Ted") as he tells his children how he met the titular mother. The show lasted for nine seasons and 208 episodes; the finale first aired on March 31, 2014. A stand-alone sequel series, How I Met Your Father, premiered on Hulu on January 18, 2022. Created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, the show is presented from the perspective of Sophie in 2050 as she recounts to her unseen son the events that followed meeting his father in January 2022.

The main characters of How I Met Your Mother are: Ted Mosby, a romantic searching for "The One"; Barney Stinson, a womanizer; Robin Scherbatsky, a journalist who moved to New York in 2005; and Marshall Eriksen and Lily Aldrin, a long-term couple. Although the show is based around The Mother, her first appearance is not until the season eight finale. How I Met Your Father meanwhile features the main characters Sophie, a romantic searching for her "soulmate"; Jesse, an aspiring musician; Sid, Jesse's best friend; Valentina and Charlie, Sophie's best friend and her British boyfriend; and Ellen, Jesse's adoptive sister, while also featuring main characters from How I Met Your Mother in guest roles.

Many of the main characters' relatives appear throughout the show, such as Lily's father or Barney's brother. They may also be seen in family gatherings, such as Barney and Robin's wedding or Marshall's father's funeral. Ted's children and Marvin W. Eriksen (son of Marshall and Lily) appear in the background of many episodes and key moments without being crucial to many plots.

Ranjit, Carl, and several other characters often appear because they work in places the main cast frequently visit/hang out at (such as MacLaren's Pub). Characters in relationships with Ted, Barney, or Robin often appear in several episodes within a short period of time, such as Victoria, Nora, or Kevin. Minor characters such as the Slutty Pumpkin or Mary the Paralegal may only appear in one or two episodes, but still play a crucial role in the episodes in which they appear.

Cast table + Character Portrayed by How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Father 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 Main Characters Ted Mosby Josh Radnor colspan="9" colspan="2" Future Ted MosbyBob Saget colspan="9" colspan="2" Marshall Eriksen Jason Segel colspan="9" colspan="2" Robin Scherbatsky Cobie Smulders colspan="9" Barney Stinson Neil Patrick Harris colspan="9" Lily Aldrin Alyson Hannigan colspan="9" colspan="2" The Doppelgängers Various colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="2" Tracy McConnell Cristin Milioti colspan = "7" colspan="2" Sophie Tompkins Hilary Duff colspan="9" colspan="2" Future Sophie Tompkins Kim Cattrall (voice only) colspan="9" colspan="2" JesseChristopher Lowell colspan="9" colspan="2" Valentina Francia Raisa colspan="9" colspan="2" Sid Suraj Sharma colspan="9" colspan="2" Charlie Tom Ainsley colspan="9" colspan="2" Ellen Tien Tran colspan="9" colspan="2" Supporting Characters Penny Mosby Lyndsy Fonseca colspan="9" colspan="2" Luke Mosby David Henrie colspan="9" colspan="2" Carl MacLaren Joe Nieves colspan="2" colspan="5" Ranjit Singh Marshall Manesh colspan="5" colspan="2" Sandy Rivers Alexis Denisof colspan="4" colspan="2" Victoria Ashley Williams colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="2" Wendy the Waitress Charlene Amoia colspan="6" colspan="5" Marcus Eriksen Ned Rolsma colspan="2" colspan="4" colspan="3" Bilson Bryan Callen colspan="7" Marvin Eriksen Bill Fagerbakke colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" Judy Eriksen Suzie Plakson colspan="3" colspan="2" Trudy Danica McKellar colspan="8" Scooter David Burtka colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="2" Stuart Bowers Matt Boren colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Gary Blauman Taran Killam colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="2" Claudia Bowers Virginia Williams colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Brad Morris Joe Manganiello colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="3" James Stinson Wayne Brady colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Loretta Stinson Megan Mullally (voice only) colspan="9" Frances Conroy colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="2" Virginia Mosby Cristine Rose colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" Alfred Mosby Michael Gross colspan="3" colspan="5" Hammond Druthers Bryan Cranston colspan="6" colspan="2" Gael Enrique Iglesias colspan="2" colspan="8" Stella Zinman Sarah Chalke colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="4" colspan="2" Abby Britney Spears colspan="2" colspan="8" Lucy Zinman Darcy Rose Byrnes colspan="2" colspan="7" Arthur Hobbs Bob Odenkirk colspan="2" colspan="3" Alan Thicke Himself colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Meg April Bowlby colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" Punchy Chris Romano colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="4" Simon Tremblay James Van Der Beek colspan="2" colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="2" Randy Wharmpess Will Forte colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="5" Tony Grafanello Jason Jones colspan="3" colspan="7" Anita Jennifer Lopez colspan="4" colspan="6" Honey Katy Perry colspan="5" colspan="5" Karen Laura Prepon colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="6" Robin Scherbatsky Sr. Eric Braeden colspan="3" colspan="7" Ray Wise colspan="5" colspan="4" colspan="2" Mrs. Matsen Renée Taylor colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="4" Don Frank Benjamin Koldyke colspan="4" colspan="6" Mickey Aldrin Chris Elliott colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Tim Gunn Himself colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="2" Jim Nantz Himself colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="2" Cindy Rachel Bilson colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" Nora Nazanin Boniadi colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="2" George Van Smoot/The Captain Kyle MacLachlan colspan="5" colspan="2" Becky Laura Bell Bundy colspan="5" colspan="3" Zoey Pierson Jennifer Morrison colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="2" Nick Podarutti Michael Trucco colspan="5" colspan="3" Jerome Whittaker John Lithgow colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="2" Sam Gibbs Ben Vereen colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="2" Patrice Ellen D. Williams colspan="6" colspan="3" colspan="2" Quinn Garvey Becki Newton colspan="6" colspan="2" colspan="3" Kevin Venkataraghavan Kal Penn colspan="6" colspan="2" Garrison Cootes Martin Short colspan="6" colspan="4" Dr. Sonya Vicki Lewis colspan="6" colspan="4" Marvin W. Eriksen Uncredited colspan="6" colspan="3" Jake Elliott colspan="7" colspan="3" August Maturo colspan="7" colspan="3" Spencer Ralston colspan="8" colspan="2" Jeanette Peterson Abby Elliott colspan="7" colspan="2" Louis Lou Ferrigno Jr. colspan="7" colspan="2" William Zabka Himself colspan="7" colspan="2" Bernice Judith Drake colspan="8" colspan="2" Curtis Roger Bart colspan="8" colspan="2" Daphne Sherri Shepherd colspan="8" colspan="2" Linus Robert Belushi colspan="8" colspan="2" Darren Andrew Rannells colspan="8" colspan="2" Genevieve Scherbatsky Tracey Ullman colspan="6" colspan="2" Notes:

In a recurring gag, the five main main cast members of How I Met Your Mother also portray their doppelgängers in episodes from the fifth season onward: "Moustache Marshall" (Jason Segel), "Lesbian Robin" (Cobie Smulders), Jasmine "Stripper Lily" (Alyson Hannigan), "Mexican Wrestler Ted" (Josh Radnor), and Doctor John Stangel (Neil Patrick Harris). Bob Saget goes uncredited for his narration. "The Mother" was played by various stunt actresses (including Jennifer Birmingham and the show's director, Pamela Fryman) throughout the series until Cristin Milioti assumed the role for the season 8 finale. An uncredited actress voices Robin's mother in the season 2 episode “Swarley”. However, the character is not formally introduced until the season 9 episode “Vesuvius”.

Main characters Ted Mosby

Appears in all 208 episodes from "Pilot" to "Last Forever"

Portrayed by Josh Radnor, Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby (born on April 25, 1978) is a romantic, originally searching for "The One" and often discussing destiny and "The Universe" controlling things. Ted grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio with parents Virginia Mosby, Alfred Mosby, and sister Heather Mosby. He is an architect who graduated from Wesleyan University, where he met Marshall and Lily. Ted is also the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children a very long story, with the premise of explaining how he met their mother. Ted's history includes being left at the altar, taking a job as an architecture professor and designing the new headquarters for Goliath National Bank.

Ted dates many people and has several long-term relationships. Ted has an on-again, off-again relationship with Robin. Ted also dates Victoria, Stella, Zoey and Jeanette. Ted finally meets his wife-to-be, Tracy, on the day of Barney and Robin's wedding, after a series of missed connections over the course of the series: accidentally teaching one of her college classes, owning her yellow umbrella for a short time, and dating her roommate.

In the finale, it is revealed that his wife died six years earlier. His children tell him that his story was about him being in love with Robin as their mother only features in a small amount of it. They urge him to get back together with Robin and he does, bringing the iconic blue French horn with him. A deleted scene confirms they rekindled their relationship.

Marshall Eriksen

Appears in all 208 episodes from "Pilot" to "Last Forever"

Portrayed by Jason Segel, Marshall Eriksen met Ted and Lily during their freshman year at Wesleyan University. He and Lily began dating during college and got married at the end of season 2. Marshall is a Columbia Law School graduate originally from Minnesota. Marshall became a lawyer because he was interested in environmental protection laws. He accepts a job at a corporate law firm, before joining the legal team at Goliath National Bank, where Barney also works. Marshall believes in the paranormal, specifically Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster. In early 2011, after being told Marshall and Lily are capable of having a baby, Marshall's dad has a fatal heart attack and dies. His first son, born in the episode "The Magician's Code – Part 1" is named Marvin, after Marshall's father.

Marshall eventually is accepted to his dream job, being a judge, after committing to move to Italy with Lily. This leads to constant conflict between the couple through most of the final season. Throughout the first half of the last season, Marshall is on a car ride from Minnesota to Long Island after missing his flight to Barney and Robin's wedding. In this process, Marshall meets The Mother.

Robin Scherbatsky

Appears in all 208 episodes of How I Met Your Mother from "Pilot" to "Last Forever", and one episode of How I Met Your Father

Portrayed by Cobie Smulders, Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr. works as a news reporter for various stations, ending up at World Wide News. She is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia and is a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. Robin was named after her father, who she has some issues with as he wanted a male child. She and Ted have an on-again, off-again relationship. The subject of four episodes, Robin was a teen pop singer named Robin Sparkles. Her first boyfriend, Simon, starred in her second music video. In season 4, Robin moves in with Ted after leaving her short-lived job in Japan. During "The Leap", she and Barney pursue a relationship, but it soon ends.