'How I Met Your Dad' will have to stand on its own

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Writers/producers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are developing a new sitcom titled "How I Met Your Dad," which may end up on CBS' schedule this fall. It's an entirely different story with an entirely different cast.

But is there a chance the two shows could somehow intersect? Could "How I Met Your Mother" cast members maybe make appearances on "HIMYD"?

"If that show is good and goes [to], like, Season 3 when we're out of ideas," Bays joked, "that would be a fun thing to do. Bring back one of these guys and pay them a bunch of money for the week."

"I'm in," said Neil Patrick Harris (Barney).

Don't hold your breath.

"I also feel like nothing will replace these people sitting here," Bays said, motioning to members of the "HIMYM" cast. "And I think we owe it to this show to end it on its own terms. And when this show ends, that's the curtain coming down for this world, I think."

Thomas agreed.

"We want to keep the end really clean and respectful," he said. "This show is ending, and whatever 'How I Met Your Dad' would ever be, if it goes, it has to prove itself on its own."