John Lithgow Will Return as Barney's Dad for the Final 'How I Met Your Mother' Season

Barney Stinson's brother James won't be the only family present when the character gets married during the final season of How I Met Your Mother. On Monday, CBS announced that John Lithgow would reprise his role of Jerry Whitaker, the father that Neil Patrick Harris' Barney only recently reconnected with. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lithgow "has thus far only signed for one episode of the ninth season, there is room for additional appearances."

I figured it was only a matter of time before Lithgow was announced as a guest during HIMYM's ninth and final season. The show spent so much time having Barney learn that Jerry was his father and deal with the fact that he grew up without a father, there was no way the character would get married without his dad there. Lithgow joins Wayne Brady, who plays James, as members of the Stinson family who will be in attendance for the Stinson-Scherbatsky wedding.