Hilary Duff 'Dares' Viewers Not to Cry When Watching 'How I Met Your Father' Finale (Exclusive)

Hilary Duff wants viewers to have some tissues on hand for the How I Met Your Father finale. ET's Cassie DiLaura spoke to Duff at the show's season 1 finale event Thursday, where she teased an emotional end to the show's first season.

"I'm gonna dare people to not cry," Duff told ET. "Every time I've watched the finale, which has been maybe two or three times now, and I'm a part of the show, I get really emotional."

"This season leaves on a cliffhanger and it's kind of emotional," the Younger alum continued.

While the show definitely brings the laughs and serves as an escape for viewers, Duff said its characters are still dealing with some "real things" in their personal lives that come to a head in the finale.

"Even though our show is a comedy and it's funny and it's definitely giving people a break from the heaviness of life right now, these characters are still going through very real things for their life," she explained. "And our writers are so damn good."

While she couldn't share much the show's epic finale, Duff did say that viewers can expect to see a familiar face from How I Met Your Mother.

"We have a very exciting guest joining us that I think people will want to tune in to watch and see," Duff teased. "We've had some peppering of nuggets from the original show all throughout the season, but this is a very exciting one."

The series follows Duff's Sophie, who, in the near future, is telling her son the story of how she met his father. Like the original, HIMYF takes viewers back to 2022, when Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.

And while the show has already been renewed for season 2, the 34-year-old actress told ET she doesn't like to get too attached to a project because of how "fickle" the TV business can be. Even still, Duff said she and the cast of HIMYF knew they were sitting on something special when they started the series.

"Honestly, I've been doing this for such a long time. And I think that I tend to try not to get too excited and get my heart really latched onto something, 'cause the business is so fickle, but also wonderful. It can be such a great ride," she explained. "And I think from day one, we knew all we were sitting on something special, once the cast came together and we were getting deeper into the season and watching the characters develop, we're like, 'Oh my god, we have something kind of great.'"

With the season 2, Duff said the cast will get some "breathing room" and have the chance to flesh out some of their own individual stories in greater detail.

"To have the opportunity to keep telling this story and to have Hulu behind and say, 'Ok, great. You guys did 10 episodes, but now we want 20,' that's amazing and that really gives a big confidence boost to what we're doing," Duff gushed. "We'll get to have a little more breathing room throughout the season, and everybody will get their own stories and adventures to go on. It's freaking amazing."

The season 1 finale of How I Met Your Father streams March 15 on Hulu.

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