Neil Patrick Harris: 'How I Met Your Mother doesn't need Britney Spears'

Neil Patrick Harris doesn't think his show, "How I Met Your Mother", needs to bring big-named guests like Britney Spears aboard for a ratings boost alone.

"I'm in the minority that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed," Harris declared during a break from taping the Monday night CBS sitcom.

"I worry that if they start 'Will and Grace'-ing us too much, that the show will suffer. And we're all really proud of the content of the show. I mean, viewership is not our game. It's the network and the studio's game, you know. It's the promotion department's game," Patrick Harris told The Associated Press in an interview last week.

The troubled Toxic star has been the most high-profile celebrity guest to visit the set, following past appearances by Mandy Moore, Enrique Iglesias and Heidi Klum. Spears' cameo as a bubbly, sweet, receptionist created so much buzz that 10.6 million viewers tuned into watch the March 24 episode -- roughly 2-million more than the sitcom -- which has grown a cult following since its 2005 debut -- averages per showing. Among the 18-49-year old demographic, it was the most-watched episode of the series ever.

"We wish we weren't opposite an awkward reality dancing competition," the actor, who plays womanizer Barney in the show, adds. "But we have no say about that. I just am a real fan of our content. I think we have a great show going, and I hope it's not screwed up by the desire for 700,000 more viewers."

HIMYM executive producer Carter Bays told the AP he's proud of the result. "We had no illusions about what the stakes were," he said. "And if it was classic stunt casting like, 'Oh, my tour bus boke down outside' and I just go, 'Wow, Britney Spears! What are you doing here?' then, like, we're just flying over that shark real fast."

Bays adds, "It was a great character and I think she played it well...I'm glad that we didn't sensationalize the character in any way."