Despite the fact that she did a good work in her cameo role
in the TV comedy series “How I Met Your Mother,” Britney Spears won’t become a
household regular.
The pop singer made a remarkable acting performance,
demonstrating in her March 24 cameo that she is not just a tabloid headlines
generator, but also a capable artist. Spears played the small role of a shy
receptionist who falls in love with the protagonist, Ted.
Evidently, Britney Spears is famous and constituted an
audience-drawer, the episode grabbing 10.6 million in front of their TVs, and
she managed to attract some 2 million viewers above the average without doing
anything more than being Britney Spears playing a tiny role.
The fact that her presence made the March 24 episode the
most-watched gig of the series generated speculations that she might become a
regular of the series. However, the initial cast dismisses the idea.
Neil Patrick Harris, who plays womanizer Barney, feels that
CBS’s Monday show would have to suffer if celebrities like Ms. Spears appeared
on a regular basis. “I’m in the minority that our show does not need stunt
casting in order to succeed,” Harris said in an interview for the Associated
Press.
“I worry that if they start `Will and Grace'-ing us too
much, that the show will suffer. And we're all really proud of the content of
the show,” he added.
“How I Met Your Mother” had other celebrities invited on the
show, including Mandy Moore, Enrique Iglesias or Heidi Klum, however, Spears’
cameo took advantage of the most high profile publicity. The show averaged 8
million viewers per episode, including reruns, rising to 9.6 million and 9.5
million before, respectively after Brit-Brit’s cameo.