Cobie Smulders thinks it's time "maybe to take my stuff out of storage."

After all, she co-stars in "How I Met Your Mother," the freshman CBS sitcom that's No. 1 in its Monday 7:30 p.m. time slot.

Like many other actors from Canada, Smulders, 23, was accustomed to flying south for TV's pilot season hoping to land just the right role.

"I think it's very much a Canadian thing, where you work hard all year so you can live from January to May and spend all your money and hope that you can get a job, so that you can get a work visa to stay here longer," says the former model. "Thankfully that happened this time."

"How I Met Your Mother" is a tale told in flashback, with voice-over provided by Bob Saget as Ted, whose youthful search for the ultimate wife forms the basis of the series.

Josh Radnor plays the younger Ted and Smulders portrays Robin, who first looked like perfect-partner material for Ted but was ruled out as his eventual wife in the first episode and has become a close friend.

Yet the character remains a key factor in what series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas hope will be a many-season search for the person who actually becomes Ted's better half and the mother of his children.

For example, in the upcoming episode, "The Limo," although Ted and Robin are dating other people, they share what Thomas describes as "a really nice, ambiguous kiss" on New Year's Eve.

"It's really beautiful ... it's a good Cobie moment" says Thomas.

Smulders' one previous lead role was as archaeologist Juliet Droil in ABC's mystery adventure series "Veritas: The Quest," which ran for just four episodes in 2003. She has also appeared on "Special Unit 2," "Smallville" and "The L Word."

The "How I Met Your Mother" casting director told the producers, "I have your Robin." Immediately upon meeting her, they agreed she was perfect.

"We'd seen a lot of beautiful women before her, but there just wasn't that incisive intelligence, and wit, and this strength and confidence that Cobie has," says Thomas.

"We are trying to do this show about how complicated it is to ultimately find the person you are supposed to be with," he explains. "We just thought what is a better obstacle and complication in that journey than having this beautiful, strong, funny woman, who is one of your best friends and you're in love with her, but she's just not destined to be the one for you."

While Ted is deeply caught up in his search for romance, Robin is more focused on her career as a neophyte TV journalist.

"I don't think there are too many strong, independent female characters on TV that can be funny, and get to show an emotional side, and get to show a more disciplined hard side," says Smulders. "She's an array of colors."