Last year, Gossip Girl fans were buzzing about Leighton Meester’s appearances in How I Met Your Father on Hulu. The season 1 finale left the door wide open for Meester to return, but will she come back in season 2? Here’s what we know.
[Spoiler alert: The following story contains spoilers for How I Met Your Father Season 1 and the premiere of season 2.]
Who does Leighton Meester play on ‘How I Met Your Father’?
Meester appeared in a handful of episodes last season as Meredith, Jesse’s (Chris Lowell) ex-girlfriend and former bandmate. At the start of the season, Jesse was still heartbroken over Meredith rejecting his marriage proposal. To add insult to injury, the rejection went viral on social media, turning Jesse into a laughing stock as people called him a loser.
Meredith left Jesse behind to start a successful solo music career. That included her latest hit single, “Jay Street,” which Meredith wrote about Jesse and her regrets over their breakup. She returned to New York City later in season 1 to ask Jesse to go on tour with her.
At first, Jesse turned down the tour offer because he was starting a relationship with Sophie (Hilary Duff). However, Sophie got scared when Jesse accidentally told her he loved her in his sleep. She encouraged him to go with Meredith on tour. Sophie later regretted that advice and went back to Jesse, but it was too late: She found him kissing Meredith in his apartment.
Leighton Meester returns in ‘HIMYF’ Season 2
That shocking kiss opened the door for a love triangle between Jesse, Sophie, and Meredith in How I Met Your Father Season 2, meaning fans would see more of Leighton Meester. Fans of the Gossip Girl star can rejoice, because yes, she will return.
In the season 2 premiere, Jesse mentioned that he would be going on a month-long tour with Meredith, setting the stage for Meester’s comeback. Meanwhile, the description for episode 2 (per IMDb), which dropped today, Jan. 31, teases that “Jesse forces Sid [Suraj Sharma] and Meredith to work out their differences.”
It’s not clear yet how often fans will see Meester in season 2. However, she does appear in a trailer for the season, as seen above, getting cozy with Jesse on the couch at Pemberton’s.
Does Leighton Meester really sing in ‘How I Met Your Father’?
In season 1, fans got to hear a snippet of Meredith singing “Jay Street.” As longtime fans of Meester could likely tell, that was Meester’s real singing voice. She kicked off her singing career in the late 2000s, going on to release a debut album called Heartstrings. Meester also had a few singles, including “Your Love’s a Drug” and “Somebody to Love.” She was featured on Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad,” which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2009.
There’s a good chance fans will hear Leighton Meester sing again in How I Met Your Father Season 2. In an interview with Variety last year, series co-creator Isaac Aptaker said he wanted to hear more of Meester’s vocals.
“That song, [“Jay Street,”] we only play a tiny bit of it on the show because the episodes are so short, but she recorded more of a full-length version. She’s so talented and it was stuck in everyone’s head on set for the entire week. I want to record more music on the show with her,” Aptaker added.
New episodes of How I Met Your Father Season 2 drop every Tuesday on Hulu. Check out the release schedule for more details.
