Hold the presses on the latest pop-tart public scandal! It seems Britney Spears is taking a break from acting crazy to…well…simply act.

Going back to her roots as a productive and functioning human being, Britney Spears is temporarily trading in her role as front-page tabloid princess for a more legitimate role on Fox TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

Britney will play a lovesick assistant in a dermatologist’s office who falls for leading male Ted (Josh Radnor) when he comes in to have a tattoo removed. It’s rumored that the show has been struggling in its latest season and that bringing Britney on board is a last-ditch CPR effort before giving the sitcom the kibosh.

Cast member Neil Patrick Harris (yes, that’s Doogie Howser to you) has been talking to the press about Britney’s scheduled appearance, and has even joked that the whole thing might simply be a setup and that we’ve all been Pop Fiction’d.

“What if [Britney] shows up on set and she is absolutely, totally normal and that the whole thing has been a big ruse?” he joked. We wish, Doogie. We wish.

Now, we know what you’re thinking – “I’ve barely regained full control of my gag reflex after subjecting myself to Crossroads six years ago, what makes you think I’m ready for another dose of Britney on the screen?”

Well, we’re not sure what we can tell you, except that at least this time there’s a half-hour cap on the star’s theatrics.  We survived her on Will & Grace, surely we can do it again here on HIMYM. That is, if we even bother to tune in - which so far in the show’s under-the-radar history, we haven’t.