Last winter, prospects for Ellie Kemper to find work after The Office ended seemed pretty great. The actress was busy putting together a pilot called Brenda Forever and she had numerous guest stints on her plate. However, NBC hasn’t moved forward with Brenda Forever at this juncture, and Kemper won’t even be popping up in that highly-touted episode of How I Met Your Mother we told you about just last month. Now, she’s being replaced by Pitch Perfect actress Anna Camp.
Camp has signed on to take over as Cassie, a young woman who is set to appear in (at least) one episode of HIMYM’s ninth and final season. Cassie is described as single and attractive, but also unfortunate. In the episode, Cassie will meet Ted, who quickly discovers just how unfortunate the young woman is. TV Line first reported the news about Camp replacing Kemper, noting that Kemper had a scheduling conflict that will keep her from appearing on CBS’ half-hour comedy.
I suppose fans of Kemper’s brand of comedy should be excited that she is so busy she won’t be able to appear on HIMYM (maybe this means that Brenda Forever is getting a second chance at NBC!), but it is a little bittersweet to hear she won’t be popping up for at least one episode. Luckily, Camp is a pretty capable actress and should be able to fill Kemper’s shoes quite easily.
Anna Camp has seemed to be everywhere these days, or maybe I’m just watching too much True Blood. Either way, her comedic sensibilities and over-the-top flair for drama should make her a perfect fit for a guest stint on How I Met Your Mother. While we know she won’t be playing the titular mother in the series, TV Line is noting that the actress could theoretically pop up in more than one episode next season, which means her performance is something fans should look forward to.
Season 9 of How I Met Your Mother will have a fairly unique format. The full-season will take place over the course of just one weekend, and will follow the wedding of Barney and Robin, as well as the inevitable introduction of Ted and his soon-to-be bride. I’m sure the meet cute will be the plotline fans are most excited for, but since HIMYM will last for 24 episode this coming TV season, there are going to need to be plenty of other filler stories to keep things moving forward.
CBS’ How I Met Your Mother returns to the schedule on Monday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET.
