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Cobie Smulders recently shared anecdotes about her character Robin Scherbatsky's alter-ego Robin Sparkles on the TV show How I Met Your Mother. On May 18, 2025, Cobie Smulders joined co-star Josh Radnor and series co-creator Craig Thomas on their podcast, How We Made Your Mother.
The trio discussed Robin Scherbatsky's alter-ego, Robin Sparkles, a Canadian teenage pop star. Cobie Smulders reflected on how the writers incorporated various aspects of her life into the character's backstory. She joked with Thomas, stating:
"I remember when you presented me with the Robin Sparkles thing...and you were like, 'We're thinking about making Robin a Canadian,' and I was like, 'Oh okay, that's cool,' and you said your partner said 'We're thinking of making her Canadian because we think it's exotic.' And I thought to myself, I have never been called exotic in my life, and so I found that really funny."
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Cobie Smulders also quipped that her character only received one speech about the pros of Canada, such as universal healthcare and anti-gun legislation, and that the rest of the show was comprised of maple syrup and hockey-lover jokes.
More about Cobie Smulders' character on How I Met Your Mother
According to How I Met Your Mother Wiki Fandom, Robin Sparkles, played by Cobie Smulders, made her first appearance on season two’s Slap Bet episode, in which the gang uncovers Robin Scherbatsky's humiliating history after she declines a trip to the mall.
At first, Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris, leaps to the insane conclusion that Robin must have starred in adult films, only to discover a camp, bubblegum-pop music video titled “Let’s Go to the Mall” starring Robin Sparkles.
Robin then admits that she was a teenage pop star in Canada and had to visit different malls across the country to sing her song, which led her to develop a hatred for malls.
Throughout the show’s nine seasons, Robin Sparkles' musical career grew into a full-fledged lore:
In the season 3 episode Sandcastles in the Sand, it is revealed that Sparkles made another song, "Sandcastles in the Sand", a melodramatic teenage ballad with Robin’s ex-boyfriend Simon (James Van Der Beek) and guest cameos by Alan Thicke and Tiffany.
In season 6's Glitter, the gang finds out that Robin appeared on "Space Teens". This was a Canadian kids' show in which Robin and her best friend Jessica Glitter (Nicole Scherzinger) solved math problems in outer space, complete with the friendship anthem “The Beaver Song.”
In Season 8, P.S. I Love You, the gang learns that Robin was obsessed with a mystery man during her younger years.
Barney heads to Canada, hunts down the men she has been with, and encounters her ex-boyfriend Simon, who informs him that Robin was obsessed with Paul Shaffer.
Her obsession, which eventually led to a restraining order, culminated in the "death" of Robin Sparkles and the emergence of Robin Daggers, who released the emo song "P.S. I Love You."
Barney also discovers that "P.S." stood for Paul Shaffer and not postscript.
