Pamela Fryman

Fryman has won two Daytime Emmys, both for her work on Santa Barbara in 1990 and 1991, and has been nominated for four DGA awards, three for her directing of Frasier and one for Just Shoot Me. In 2011, Fryman accepted the Dorothy Arzner Award, established to recognize the important role women Directors play in both film and television.

Fryman got her first job on The John Davidson Show as an assistant to the talent coordinator, and went on to be a booth production assistant and secretary on Santa Barbara, eventually moving up to assistant Director (AD), and Director. In 1993, Producer Peter Noah, with whom she had worked on the game show Dream House, gave Fryman a chance to direct an episode of the short-lived sitcom Café Americain. These would be the first stepping stones toward a long and successful career.

Fryman directed the majority of the episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Show creator Craig Thomas praised her communication skills, saying, "She makes everyone feel they've been heard and respected and she can connect with anyone." Though Fryman's original career plan did not include directing (she figured she would "follow in her father's footsteps in merchandising"), she has grown to realize that directing is her forte and passion. In Variety magazine, Fryman said that continuing to direct How I Met Your Mother is her fantasy realized. In 2014, she officiated the wedding of How I Met Your Mother co-star Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, who played a side role in the show.