How I Met Your Mother Spinoff Casting: How I Met Your Dad May Reflect Meg Ryan’s Rom-Com Career; Megan Plays Another Sally, the New Ted

How I Met Your Mother Spinoff Casting: "How I Met Your Dad" producers might have some fun with the myth and legend of Meg Ryan, America's Sweetheart, the queen of rom-com. Meg Ryan plays Sally, not the one who met Harry, but the new Ted. But the similarities between big screen and small screen Meg Ryan might not end there.

"How I Met Your Mother" might also see some that show's characters show up on the planned spin-off show "How I Met Your Dad" if the series is picked up by CBS.

E! News reported their theory that Meg Ryan was cast as Sally in "How I Met Your Dad" so the show can mash up Ryan's three best known iconic films, rom-coms all, "When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail."

Ryan's character is the older version of star Greta Gerwig's Sally, much like Bob Saget played older Ted. In a nod to Ryan's "You've Got Mail" role, Nicholas D'Agosto will be portraying an IT guy named Frank. In You've Got Mail, Ryan's character broke up with a writer named Frank. All three of Ryan's big movies had ties to New York. So does "How I Met Your Dad." 

Alyson Hannigan Lily Aldrin for all nine seasons of "How I Met Your Mother." She's says none of the cast from the original series will be regulars on the new show, but that doesn't mean they won't show up if the show is picked up. Hannigan said "I guess they're waiting to see, but none of us are involved, none of the actors."

New star Greta Gerwig says the spin-off will be "different than the original. 'How I Met Your Dad" will start with a divorce. When the premise of the show is that it's a young man looking for his true love, it's a very different feeling than a young woman looking for her true love. Craig and Carter are making it too, and Emily Spivey is so funny and great. She wrote for SNL for a long time, and wrote the show Up All Night, and I'm in love with her."

Greta Gerwig will next star on Broadway in  Penelope Skinner's "The Village Bike" at the MCC Theater.

Meg Ryan joined the cast of CBS' comedy pilot "How I Met Your Dad." The "Sleepless in Seattle" actress will play "Future Sally," the  narrator and older version of Greta Gerwig's character in the "How I Met Your Mother" spin-off pilot.

Meg Ryan breakout role came in 1989 when she played another Sally against Billy Crystal's Harry in the hit "When Harry Met Sally." Ryan went on to star in "Sleepless in Seattle," "In the Cut," and first came to TV in Showtime's "Web Therapy."