Get Ready To Hear More About This Lady

Smash had its issues — and its vast scarf collection — but it also had its perks: It introduced us to a lot of talent we hope will sweep Hollywood in the coming years. And no, I'm not talking about Debra Messing or former American Idol stars: I'm talking people like Krysta Rodriguez. Rodriguiez, coincidentally, was just cast on the upcoming How I Met Your Mother spinoff How I Met Your Dad .

Now, I have my qualms about How I Met Your Dad — is it just gonna be another exceedingly long-winded person dragging out a story beyond belief? Will they be able to recapture the magic we all felt when Robin Sparkles first became a thing? — but I also gotta admit: The casting so far is winning me over. The show perked ears and raised eyebrows when it cast indie wonder Greta Gerwig in the leading role of "person telling a really long story." And now with Rodriquez's casting, HIMYD is picking from a show that was, for all its obvious faults, populated by a lot of people with a lot of talent. It's a smart move on the casting director's part.

Rodriguez's role so far fills the best friend capacity in the ensemble, and if How I Met Your Dad's following the How I Met Your Mother structure of things — which at least for this first season we can assume — then we can probably project that we've either got our Marshall or our Barney all set, with a few tweaks here and there. Considering the description ("a sexy and flamboyant party girl force of nature, who runs the most successful fashion blog in the country") I'd say we're safe with assuming she'll fill the raucous shoes of Barney Stinson before the cuddly midwestern ones of Marshall Eriksen.

Here's hoping they'll throw a few musical bits her way, no matter what role she fills.