Her Character Wasn’t Originally Canadian
Robin Scherbatsky on How I Met Your Mother’s was arguably the most iconic Canadian characters on an American TV sitcom. Her character’s heritage gave the writers a wealth of material. Similar to South Park, these writers went to town with relentlessly poking fun at America’s neighbor to the north. But Robin’s nationality actually wasn’t planned.
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Rather, it was the result of a happy accident. Cobie explained in a Canadian TV interview that it wasn’t until the writers learned of her nationality that they thought of making her character Canadian as well. When the writers told Smulders that Robin should be Canadian because it seemed “exotic,” she said, “I’ve never been called that in my life, but sure, sure, let’s do it.’”