Eric McCandless/FoxIf How I Met Your Mother is indeed waiting until the series finale to introduce us to the mother, then viewers might have to wait a bit longer for that.
A show source confirms to us that CBS and 20th Century Fox TV have started negotiations to order one more season of HIMYM, which would make it season nine…
News of the talks were first reported by Variety. Even though the negotiations are very preliminary, both sides are expressing desire to add another season to their order, due primarily to the ratings uptick HIMYM saw last season. And though creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas insist they have a plan in place for how they'll wrap up the series, an early order for another season will give the HIMYM team time to alter storylines, if necessary.
For example, will we meet Ted's wife and see them date before the end of the series? Or will the final episode introduce us to the mysterious mother?
"We have it worked out," Bays said during the Winter TCAs in January. "We kind of know what the endgame of the series is. It's obvious this show is around one central question, so that meeting will be part of the endgame of the show. How much the show will go beyond that, we can't really say one way or the other."
Most likely the cast will also sign on for a ninth season, even as their careers outside HIMYM continue to build upward. Cobie Smulders recently starred in the box-office smash The Avengers, and Jason Segel is snatching up leading roles right and left. But Segel assured fans that he is definitely on board should HIMYM get more seasons. "I really agree that I'd like to see the story come to its natural end, whether it's eight years or nine years," he told reporters in January. "I was so relieved when I found out there was an actual plan!"
CBS has no comment on the reported negotiations.
Do you want nine seasons of HIMYM? Or would you rather see the series end with season eight?