Cannes Film Festival 2013

Report: 'How I Met Your Mother' to run forever and ever and ever

Jason Segel has apparently agreed to a ninth season; will we ever meet the Mother?

<p>Sounds like the full "How I Met Your Mother" cast will be back for another season.</p>

Sounds like the full "How I Met Your Mother" cast will be back for another season.

Credit: CBS

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"How I Met Your Mother" is reportedly coming back for a ninth season — and if the show's creators take their title literally, we may have another year and a half, minimum, before Ted Mosby gets a look at his future wife.

Deadline's Nikki Finke is reporting that a last-minute deal has been closed for a ninth season renewal, after Jason Segel — the one cast member who was reluctant to come back, due to his busy film career — agreed to stick around for the sake of his co-stars.

Whether Finke is right or not about a deal being finished, every story on the "HIMYM" renewal discussions — including public comments by creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays — has made one thing clear: Thomas and Bays wanted an answer very very soon, so they could map out the rest of the sitcom's complicated mythology.

Which certainly suggests that they really don't want us to meet the Mother until the very end of the series.

Bays and Thomas have always played coy about when the eponymous moment might play out on the show. But last year, they said they were at least toying with the idea of introducing the Mother by the end of season 8, renewal or not, and then coming up with a new course for a ninth season — whether it was flashbacks to untold moments from the previous eight years, or simply moving forward with the Mother as a regular character.

But if they were seriously considering that, then they wouldn't have needed to set a deadline for finding out if there would be another season. If they were confident that the Mother would be peeking out from under the yellow umbrella by the end of May, no matter what, this wouldn't be an issue. They'd just plot out the rest of the season and figure out how season 9 would work whenever the deal closed.

This could, of course, be part of the ongoing game of misdirection the show plays. Bays and Thomas may be intending to introduce the Mother very soon — it happens on the day of Robin and Barney's wedding, and they got engaged in this week's episode — and just wanted an answer so the rest of the crew would know if they needed to start looking for new jobs already.

But brace yourself for a lot more of Future Ted saying, "But we'll get to that later," just in case.

Alan-sepinwall-sm
Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

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  • Default-avatar

    jon88

    No.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:13PM EST Reply to Comment
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      T agreed. season 8's quality has already been off, don't need another pointless bantering season.

      December 21, 2012 at 11:22PM EST
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      April Now, wait a minute. Might I toss out an innocent analysis that you will all hate? I think we don't appreciate the writing style, comedy factors and actors...well, acting well because we are frustrated about not meeting the mother. At the end of he day...Barney is still hilarious and NPH is UBER talented . I love all the characters and feel like they're family. The writers are good at, again, well...writing. Yes they're screwing with us, but it's still a great show. Am I crazy or have you guys just turned bitter?

      December 22, 2012 at 12:44AM EST
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      marpocky No, April, the show has definitely gotten worse the last few years.

      December 22, 2012 at 2:48AM EST
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      Kyle7 If it were just the mother's identity that was an issue, we'd be saying "I wish they'd get to the mother already, but on the other hand the more we wait for that the more of a great show we're getting." The problem is many people feel the writers have been doing an increasingly poor job of putting out event decent scripts, and the cast can only do so much with bad material.

      I almost never think about who the mother is when watching a new episode (in part because they've trained us to not expect any development until near the end at this point), so I'm definitely not frustrated by that nagging question. I'm judging it solely on two factors:

      a) Does it make me laugh? Now, a comedy can sometimes do an episode that's light on jokes and heavier on the serious aspects and excel; this show has done that several times in the past. Nowadays, however, it's increasingly the case where they're writing a joke-filled script, just that most of the jokes are bad.

      b) Does it tell an interesting story? This show in its heyday arguably did that better than most other comedies, but nowadays many of the relationship stories are unoriginal and give the viewers no reason to get invested. The time skips are in large part to blame; as Alan has mentioned several times, if we know that Barney and Robin are due to get married, we're not going to care about their relationship issues with other people, especially when those intervening relationships feel like filler whose sole purpose is to keep them apart until the right time. Many of the week-to-week stories feel like old sitcom standbys with which the writers aren't doing anything interesting.

      We may have turned bitter, but it's because we're watching a show lurching ahead as a shell of its former self in just about every way. It's like watching a once-great athlete plod through his final season when he's barely making a positive impact on his team, if not regularly harming it. If there were just one thing he was failing at, you could overlook it, but when you see him struggling at everything, you just wish he'd hang it up.

      December 22, 2012 at 5:12AM EST
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      Sorry, but I agree, this is taking too long and if Jason segel doesn't come back then the show would be pointless. Show the mother soon so we can get on with our lives. Other than that, the show is great with season 8 being the worst so far...

      March 1, 2013 at 1:01AM EST
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    carey_adams

    "But we'll get to that later."

    I've been saying the same thing about watching the show. I have about six episodes sitting on my DVR and haven't felt like watching them at all.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:15PM EST Reply to Comment
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      brutony Get to them later!

      December 21, 2012 at 11:34PM EST
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    George

    Haha, don't be silly Alan, the mother will only ever be introduced in the final (stretch of) episodes. So for now, it's just more mediocrity until then.

    You should review some other, better shows.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:21PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Matt

    Ugh. They really ought to reveal the mother at the end of this season and then season 9 should lead us to the engagement.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:21PM EST Reply to Comment
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      Laura AGREED!!!

      January 16, 2013 at 9:28AM EST
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    David

    Crap.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:24PM EST Reply to Comment
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      David Couldn't they introduce the mother this season and show their courtship over next season? ANYTHING to move it forward!

      December 21, 2012 at 11:26PM EST
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      smreyno Ideally. That's the scenario I'd be interested in watching. I'm afraid they won't do that, though, and we'll just get another season of wheel-spinning.

      December 22, 2012 at 3:16AM EST
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    Ben

    If they want to surprise people show us the mother before the season finale this year.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:26PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Mike

    It's rare that you'll see so many people who watch a show be so upset that it isn't ending...

    December 21, 2012 at 11:27PM EST Reply to Comment
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      Kel Which is why this show should get the hint and stop. If their fan base is so obviously upset about it, they shouldn't keep trying to screw with them and not reveal things.

      I think it makes the most sense to introduce the mother, and show her growing as a character. Or just end.

      December 23, 2012 at 6:36PM EST
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      Brian Lost was similar. People were calling for them to set an end date pretty early in the show's run.

      December 23, 2012 at 6:46PM EST
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    JB

    It's really sad they're going to let the show end this way, years beyond its prime. I stopped watching early this season because I couldn't bear it anymore and I've heard it's just gotten worse.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:29PM EST Reply to Comment
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    DB Cooper

    I can't possibly imagine how they think the payoff will be worth it, if they wait until the final episode -- probably the final moment of the final episode.

    Unless Eleanor Roosevelt herself returns from the dead to star in the finale, I can't see how just seeing some actress' face is supposed to be a payoff.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:35PM EST Reply to Comment
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      Grubi I agree. They're building it up and making a big deal about it so much that it will be impossible for them to justify the wait.

      December 22, 2012 at 12:06AM EST
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    J

    Hate what's happened to the word "mythology."

    December 21, 2012 at 11:40PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Brubarian

    Damnit, I was ready to cut CBS out of my life completely...

    December 21, 2012 at 11:49PM EST Reply to Comment
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      Joyeful Hmm. Your comment just made me realize that HIMYM is the only CBS show I watch.

      December 27, 2012 at 1:10PM EST
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    Shawn Mahone

    I used to make the excuse that by prolonging the show the show runners were at least keeping people employed and so I accepted seasons 4'5'6'7 and 8....but....they know that Segal will not keep saying yes....it will start corroding his film career and the show should just use the season 9 to right a lot of the wrongs of the past few seasons. They need to get some dignity back. Introduce the mother and give us a great final season.

    Lost did a lot of things wrong during seasons 2 and 3. But knowing they were going to end they spent seasons 4, 5 and part of 6 repaying fans investment. They screwed up a lot but still made some effort.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:51PM EST Reply to Comment
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      Kel In order to really give us a great season 9, I think the writters need to be new, or they need to come to the realization that they have completely dropped the ball long ago.

      December 23, 2012 at 6:38PM EST
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    HWah

    I hope for more funny; less clever..because the more clever they become the less funny they are...

    December 21, 2012 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment
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    HWah

    I hope for more funny; less clever..because the more clever they become the less funny they are...

    December 21, 2012 at 11:59PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Pat

    I can't believe that people still watch this show. It was cute for the first few years, but now it's just embarrassing.

    December 22, 2012 at 12:04AM EST Reply to Comment
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    evolution1085

    At this point, can they really milk a year and half's worth out of Robin and Barney's engagement? The obvious answer is no, but I have a sense of morbid curiousity as to how the hell they could make 35ish more episodes from the point they currently find themselves without some kind of massive paradigm shift (the mother is a regular character, the show no longer takes place in the "present")

    December 22, 2012 at 12:06AM EST Reply to Comment
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      evolution1085 Also, based on career prospects, if they're hanging around for another year, it seems like it would be to the benefit of Hannigan the most, as the rest of the cast has had success in other venues as the show has progressed, and Hannigan's biggest triumph has been American Reunion.

      December 22, 2012 at 12:19AM EST
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      George Yeah, I agree on Hannigan being the most likely to want to have this show run forever. Even the guy who plays Ted had that Liberal Arts film, which was decent. I think the person being most wasted on the show is Segel, and am kind of annoyed he signed on for another season (though it was nice of him I guess). He's proved that he can pen a great script, and has had some great roles in recent years (Forgetting Sarah Marshall/Jeff Who Lives at Home/I Love You, Man). Much rather see him in film rather than on a show that has been getting progressively worse.

      December 22, 2012 at 12:43AM EST
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      Alden Eh, I'm pretty sure Hannigan will be just fine with the combined residual payments from 7 years of Buffy and 9 years of HIMYM reruns.

      December 22, 2012 at 4:16AM EST
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      Brian Maybe, but this might be her last relevant moment in the entertainment industry, and one person's "will be just fine" is another's person "I want to buy a private jet." Its all relative.

      December 23, 2012 at 6:57PM EST
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    Vanilla Thunder

    Great. 20+ more episodes of them beating a dead horse!

    December 22, 2012 at 12:22AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      oliver AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!!! It's Swarley by a length over RobinSparkles and three lengths over HaveYouMetTed? But--wait for it--here comes LegenDary gaining fast on the outside, it's going to be a photo finish!! And the winner is...ButWe'llGetToThatLater.

      December 27, 2012 at 1:50PM EST
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    RC74

    My wife and I stopped watching about 2 years ago, just couldn't stand Ted anymore. I'll watch if I can't find the remote, but that's about as far as I can go anymore.

    December 22, 2012 at 12:46AM EST Reply to Comment
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    David

    BOOOOOOOO!

    December 22, 2012 at 1:02AM EST Reply to Comment
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    marc

    every major female character they introduced over the past eight seasons (save for victoria) didn't work. so i "get" why they aren't introducing the mother until the very end.

    December 22, 2012 at 1:04AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Josh

    THEY MUST END THE SHOW WITH SEASON 8!! I love "How I met Your Mother", but the quality has really dropped in season 8 as the writers are just running out of ideas. They could at least make up for the weak first half of the season by concluding the mother story. I fear that if the show gets renewed for a 9th season that I won't care for the characters anymore by the time the show ends.

    December 22, 2012 at 1:04AM EST Reply to Comment
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    nic919

    They will need to have one hell of a season finale for me to consider watching next season. I think I will probably skip most of next year except for the last few shows. As much as NPH and Jason Segal have talent, they have been wasted in this sitcom, and I just don't care about them much anymore.

    December 22, 2012 at 1:21AM EST Reply to Comment
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    chi

    I feel like I just got told I had to work late. Gah.

    And ever since someone here said we will never see the mother's face, I have resigned myself to it. Count on it, we'll only see Radnor and a yellow umbrella with legs in the final shot.

    Dammit, I hate this news.

    December 22, 2012 at 1:59AM EST Reply to Comment
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      Jonathan Yeah, this is bad news. I knew it was going to happen but it still sucks.

      Everyone else is right, it sounds like we are writing about a cancellation.

      December 22, 2012 at 2:10AM EST
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      Kel Excellent way to put it! That is exactly how I felt when I was told about this!

      Why does this show get another season, and Community, which is so much better, get cut!

      December 23, 2012 at 6:42PM EST
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      Brian Kel: Not to point out the obvious, but the answer to your question is "ratings."

      December 23, 2012 at 10:27PM EST
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      keenan I think we need to test this theory--have HIMYM and Community switch networks for one season and we'll see if their current ratings remain the same.

      December 27, 2012 at 1:52PM EST
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    Kyle7

    http://geekmontage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Darth-Vader-No.jpg

    I would not be surprised if this was made possible in large part because they gave Jason Segel a blank check and said "you can write your own salary for one more season."

    And this really has to be one of the few times in history that a sizable portion of a TV show's fanbase is upset that it's been renewed. I'm not sure how much our feelings (i.e. the people who bother to comment on the internet somewhere) are representative of the whole, but it's got to be at least a reasonably sized minority. And it's really all because they still haven't answered the title premise. There's been any number of shows that have descended into mediocrity or even outright atrociousness because they ran too long, but I have to think in almost all of them there wasn't this intense need to find out the answer to a singular question keeping people around. Can anyone think of a show that fits the bill other than Lost? (and I'd strongly argue that it rebounded towards the end of season 3 and was anywhere between solid and great until the end)

    December 22, 2012 at 2:39AM EST Reply to Comment
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      berkowit28 It's early days yet (well, 2nd season), but keep your eye on Grimm. They still haven't let Juliet find out that that her boyfriend Nick is a Grimm (at the moment she still can't even remember that she knew him when he was her boyfriend). Will they ever? Nor have they let Nick know that his boss Renard is a "royal", although that must be coming sometime. They don't appear to have even thought through what they're going to do with any of this down the road. It just looks like they thought they'd be canceled before they had to figure it out. Which will come first? That's what's keeping fans watching.

      December 22, 2012 at 1:53PM EST
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      Brian The only other show besides Lost that comes to mind is X-Files, but obviously there wasn't the same level of internet presence, so its hard to say how strong the desire for the end was.

      December 23, 2012 at 8:55PM EST
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      albatross "And it's really all because they still haven't answered the title premise."

      Not all. The show simply is not very good anymore and the quality has been slipping for quite some time.

      December 26, 2012 at 1:05PM EST
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    EMANUEL

    I think that the only way "HIMYM" has a good final season is if they make it into a dramatic love story.And they end on a sad note!

    December 22, 2012 at 4:20AM EST Reply to Comment
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      Jonathan Michaels That's what Segal wanted them to do, have Ted tell the kids the story to help them deal with her death.

      December 22, 2012 at 12:26PM EST
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      Ray I don't like that idea. The story isn't about the mother, so why tell it on her death? I like it better if Ted is the one who is dead or dying.

      December 23, 2012 at 4:16PM EST
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      cadfile The way the episodes have been going since the killed off Marshal's Dad I wouldn't be surprised if they do this

      December 24, 2012 at 3:39AM EST
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      oliver At this rate maybe they could have the series end with Ted's kids sitting there in their 70's and keeling over dead because their centenarian father won't stop telling this d@mn story!

      December 27, 2012 at 1:56PM EST
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    jamestabe

    They like this

    December 22, 2012 at 6:11AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Bob

    one of the worst shows on tv.

    i have no idea how anyone watches it.

    December 22, 2012 at 9:44AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Bob

    One of the worst shows on TV.

    I have no idea why anyone would willingly watch this.

    December 22, 2012 at 9:46AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Greg

    I knew it. The ratings are just too damn high, CBS would try anything to keep it alive. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a tenth season. CBS has to find a new hit to replace first Two and a Half Men and then HIMYM, which they won't find this season anymore.

    December 22, 2012 at 10:46AM EST Reply to Comment
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      politicallyincorrectdude I'm sure CBS has 'Two Really Broke Girls' (they live in a trailer) and 'Mitch and Millie' (they each weigh 100 lbs) waiting in their comedy bullpen, complete with multiple cameras and laugh tracks galore.

      December 27, 2012 at 1:59PM EST
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    srpad

    Remember when this was a show on the bubble desperate to be able to finish its story?

    December 22, 2012 at 11:16AM EST Reply to Comment
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      the minister Fondly.... but increasingly hazily.

      December 22, 2012 at 8:52PM EST
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