Ooooh... juicy gossip! Michael Ausiello over at TV Guide.com has some good dish about How I Met Your Mother that he swears is true.Apparently Alicia Silverstone has canceled her guest appearance on the show due to Britney Spears' upcoming cameo. As Joel recently reported, Spears pitched the idea herself. She will play a wacky receptionist in a doctor's office--the doctor was supposed to be played by Silverstone, and she was to appear in a "multi-episode arc". According to Ausiello, Silverstone quit the gig because she was worried that her performance would be over-shadowed by Britney's appearance. OK, that's a legitimate concern. She's probably right. Although, I think Britney was only going to be on one episode and Silverstone was slated for several.
Sarah Chalke, who plays Dr. Eliot Reed on Scrubs, will take Silverstone's place. The episode in question is the third new episode after the writers' strike. HIMYM begins new episodes on Monday, but an air date for the Britney episode is not yet confirmed.
Update: E! Online is reporting the same information.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-12-2008 @ 2:17PM
BStu said...
Um... okay. This is all getting very weird. To be fair, you can see why the producers said yes to Britney. With the show always on the bubble, they can't very well go to the network and say they declined to have a huge star make a guest appearance that said huge star offered to do. At the same time, while I liked the idea of Alicia Silverstone, I think I like Sarah Chalke better so... upgrade?
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3-12-2008 @ 2:17PM
Nathaniel said...
If it weren't for Sarah Chalke as replacement, I would have been all ";oh, come one, drop the Britney and keep the Alicia!" But Sarah Chalke is a reasonable replacement and I can live with that. Of course, the Britney thing still is kinda strange... at least it's only one episode... at least, I hope so! Let's hope there's no sudden reason for them to need her back because they need Chalke's character back.
One thing, though: I totally can't see Sarah Chalke as the mother, so if that was the intention for Alicia Silverstone, I hope they drop that angle.
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3-12-2008 @ 2:24PM
Steve said...
What would have been better is keep Silverstone and have Sarah Chalke replace britney and then everybody wins. except britney..but who cares
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3-12-2008 @ 2:24PM
Oreo said...
Will Britney be wasted like in real life? Ehh... either way she is a waste of space on screen and in real life.
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3-12-2008 @ 3:26PM
GigG said...
Kick Brit. I want Alicia.
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3-12-2008 @ 3:37PM
Dave said...
What would make that totally awesome is if she played the role as Eliot. Too bad the doc has already been named. Maybe Stella's last name could be Reid. Or Dorian. Or Turkelton!
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3-12-2008 @ 4:00PM
Chip Douglas said...
I got to say that while I love Sarah Chalke, I hope this is not going to interfere with wrapping up "Scrubs" Brittany's appearance on "Will and Grace" did not do anything for me, and I know this appearance is going to do a lot more for her than for me. From what I understand, this show is on the brink and they need to either get picked up for next (and probably final) season or wrap it up. Come on people, finnish strong! The show runners need to figure out what is best for the show.
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3-12-2008 @ 4:52PM
Darren said...
Alicia would be way better then Spears! Hopefully they can work her in later in the series - hint hint CBS - Next season!
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3-12-2008 @ 6:32PM
Dave said...
i think its obvious... Brittney is the mother !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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3-13-2008 @ 11:49PM
Dawn Dubsky said...
I will not be watching the episode with Britney nor any episode thereafter. I don't care if it's even one episode. I don't mind giving someone a second chance, but encouraging the public (me) to give her a tenth and offering to put her back in the limelight is an insult to us all. Just when I thought we might be rid of her, someone gives her yet another chance and compromises their own integrity (that of the producers) by opening another door for her and a bundle of profits for themselves. I find this offensive. Who's paying who to put her on a respectable progam, I wonder. I have lost respect for this channel and this program. I can live without the media insulting my intelligence and my morals...again.
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3-13-2008 @ 2:03AM
sitruc said...
They should just keep the rumors around for a while. Eventually they can drop Spears while playing up a rivalry with Silverstone. Hopefully, anticipation of episodes featuring them will build interest and viewers. They don't even need Silverstone in the end. What do I know though? I don't watch the show. It all makes for good publicity though.
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3-13-2008 @ 2:24PM
Doug Nelson said...
Chalke would be a good addition to the cast, but lousy as yellow umbrella woman
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3-13-2008 @ 3:07PM
Justin said...
I was initially really upset about this because I was so excited for Silverstone. Now, I think it'll be OK. I wrote up why I think so and probably spent much too much time on it:
http://www.have-you-met-ted.com/2008/updated-spears-confirmed-silverstone-out-chalke-in-and-why-itll-all-be-ok/
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3-17-2008 @ 11:30PM
Bash said...
The network opened the showrunners to the Britney idea by leaving it up in the air whether the show gets renewed or not. THAT is the problem. If you feel you get canned anyway you can do something drastic to earn a new contract. What's your integrity worth if you're out of your job six weeks later?
Nothing.
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