A jovial Britney Spears attended a table reading on Monday for the CBS primetime hit, "How I Met Your Mother," in which the controversial pop phenom will play a receptionist in a dermatologist’s office. Her character will fall for Ted, an architect played by Josh Radnor. The show’s creator, Craig Thomas, told Usmagazine.com that Spears was in great spirits and was seen "laughing a lot" during the read-through.

How’d this all happen? Thomas expressed interest in casting Britney after hearing that she was "looking for a small part in a funny show." Thomas said he was in the middle of rewriting the episode’s script when CBS execs called to say they were having dinner with Brit and that she liked the show. After some frenzied writing, Thomas gave her the script and she said yes the next day.

Thomas also told Usmagazine.com that she seemed to really understand the characters. This will be Britney’s first small screen acting appearance since her "Will & Grace" cameo in 2006. The episode will air March 24 on CBS … in what will probably be their highest rated show ever.