'How I Met Your Mother' Creators Developing New Sitcom for Fox
by EG
How I Met Your Mother creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have a deal to create a new sitcom for Fox, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The new series will be called Open Arms and center on a couple who struggle to run an inn in Vermont.
Bays and Thomas have not had a stellar track record since the end of their highly-rated HIMYM ended on CBS in 2014. The series' controversial finale angered many fans, and a spin-off series called How I Met Your Dad never made it past the pilot stage at CBS. Fox reportedly had a shot at producing that series but passed.
CBS is also considering two more series from Bays and Thomas. The first is a sitcom vehicle for comedian Chris Distefano. The second is My Time/Your Time, a sitcom about a long-distance relationship starring Jane Levy. The network has ordered pilots for both series but has committed to a series for neither of them.
The characters in Open Arms are a young couple who decide to by a Vermont inn when they discover they're not able to have a baby. This, presumably, sets it apart from the classic comedy Newhart, which is about a childless middle-aged couple who buy a Vermont inn just for the heck of it. That series finale, unlike that of HIMYM, is widely considered to be one of the best in TV history.