Many presumed that the eighth season of How I Met Your Mother, premiering this fall, would be the show’s last, and that the mother’s identity would finally be revealed. But. it seems that CBS is getting closer to making a deal for a ninth season.
CBS President Nina Tassler had this to say at the Television Critics Summer Press Tour:
“[The show] had an incredible year last year and we’ve got a great relationship with [series creators] Craig [Thomas] and Carter [Bays] and certainly they have a very strategic wrap-up for the show. They want it back. We’re not there yet in terms of resolving the season. We’re in early conversations and we’re pretty optimistic.”
TV Line was able to speak with co-creator Craig Thomas and executive producer Pamela Fryman about the negotiations and what that would mean for this season:
“It’s a really interesting situation because there’s a negotiation going on that could extend the show, for sure. But right now, the thing that we know to be true is we have this year and no deal for next year. So we have to proceed as though this could be the last year of HIMYM. Hopefully we will know soon. Basically, we couldn’t possibly know soon enough. But we’d be thrilled to tell either story – either wrap it up this year or to tell another chapter of this story. We don’t know yet which way it’s going to go.”
It sounds like the creators intend to wrap up the mother mystery this year. They had previously entertained the idea of continuing the show even after resolving the mystery, and having a ninth season could mean just that. I’m sure fans would love to see how they eventually get married and the journey they take to get there, but Thomas also mentioned that “it’s not impossible it could go beyond Season 9”.
There’s still the matter of whether the actors would want to return as well, as none of the cast members are signed on for a ninth season. The ensemble consisting of Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris is what makes the show a success and, without any one of them the show would falter.
The creator spoke further on what we could look forward to this season and where the various relationships are headed:
“We’re in a funny predicament. [The premiere] begins with three couples we know are doomed: Barney and Quinn – Barney’s going to marry Robin – Victoria we’ve said is not the mother, and Robin has a new love interest that starts off the season too, played by Michael Trucco. But we know Robin’s going to end up marrying Barney. It’s cool to start with everybody coupled up, but it’s like a horror movie. We know all these people camping at Camp Crystal Lake are going to be killed by Jason in a hockey mask. There’s a fun feeling of doom to these three couples. We’re calling October, “Breakup Month.” This is the month where some stuff went crazy in these relationships. … But Victoria is around for a while. I don’t want to say what happens there and how that doesn’t work out, but we look at her very much this season. I think everybody has this in their life – the last door you have to close before you’re actually ready to move forward and meet the person you’re going to spend your life with.”
In the Season 7 finale, we jumped into the future and saw Barney getting ready to marry Robin. This is the day Ted meets the mother and it seems we’ll see some more of the wedding in next season’s debut:
“We jump further forward in that future wedding day. … The glimpses of that future Barney/Robin wedding day have been really important to the story. We blow [everything] out of the water in Episode 1. We jump further into that day and show you more information deeper into that wedding day that I think will blow some people’s minds. It’s really, really exciting…it’s the day Ted meets the mother. And we jump perilously deep into that day and show you some glimpses of some really huge stuff that’s happening. We jump to the end of that wedding day and show you something crazy.”
The creators also confirmed that Michael Trucco would reprise his role from a couple of seasons ago, and would be getting into a relationship with Robin. As Thomas commented, “it’s a bit of a relationship bloodbath in the first six episodes, and I hope in a very entertaining way”.
As for Lily and Marshall:
“We’re going to tell a story figuring out, “Who’s our babysitter? Who’s our nanny? Who’s going to help us with this?” There’s a cool and meaningful answer to that question that we’ll see Marshall and Lily arrive at in the first few episodes. It will free them up to have at least the occasional beer with the gang. And the gang will consider [the baby] the sixth member of this group. It’s going to be very sweet.”
Finally, the creator also implied that we might be seeing Robin Sparkles again while revealing that a How I Met Your Mother soundtrack album would be released on the day of the premiere. It has about 20 tracks and will feature original music from the show.
Even though the mystery of the mother has been stretched thin, the show has been consistently funny. The teasers for season eight have made me really excited for its return, and I can’t wait to see more from Barney and Robin’s wedding.
Season 8 of How I Met Your Mother will premiere on CBS on September 24, 2012.
Do you want a ninth season, or would you rather they end it this year? Are you excited for the new season? Let us know in the comments section!