HIMYM SPOILERS: SEASON 5 SCOOP

Question: Any plans for Sarah Chalke to return to How I Met Your Mother? —Matt
Ausiello: Yes, but probably not until May 2010. That’s when The Wedding Bride, the movie Stella’s fiancé was writing, hits theaters. “If we can pull it off,” says exec producer Carter Bays, “it’s going to be a cool little treat for the second half of the season.”

Question: Will Barney and Robin make it as a couple on How I Met Your Mother? —Mike
Ausiello: Who knows? Come to think of it, Carter Bays probably does. Let’s ask him! “It’s been fun discovering what they’re like in a couple,” he tells me. “We’ve seen Robin in a relationship with Ted; we know she can do it. But for Barney, this is undiscovered country. As an adult, he’s never had a relationship. He had a girlfriend in college who totally broke his heart and sent him on this journey towards becoming Barney, and he’s been [the same] since. So it’s been very interesting seeing him take his attitude and the world view that he’s developed as a single guy and apply it to being in a relationship.” Bays adds that their relationship will “have repercussions for everyone,” particularly Ted. “We’re exploring how Ted deals with the fact that his ex-girlfriend and best friend are now dating. And we’ll see how Marshall and Lily deal with the fact that there’s another couple in the group. It’s giving us a lot of juice for the first half of the season.”

Spoilers courtesy of Ask Ausiello at www.ew.com