‘How I Met Your Mother’ Officially Returning For Ninth And Final Season

How I Met Your Mother is officially returning for a ninth and final season, ending months of speculation about whether the series would live on past its current season.

CBS and 20th Century Fox have come to an agreement about the show’s final season which will — finally — reveal the identity of the mother. So rumors that the mother would be introduced this season –which has largely been focused on the Barney and Robin storyline — are, perhaps sadly for some fans, false.

According to Deadline, the ninth season will be 24 episodes and all series regulars will be returning. Jason Segel was the last holdout, and he agreed to return for another season in December. Had Segel decided not to come back, there were more than a few theories about how his character could have been written out of the show.

CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler said, “Through eight years, How I Met Your Mother has mastered the art of leading-edge comedy, emotional water-cooler moments and pop culture catch-phrases.”

20th Century Fox chairman Dana Walden added, “Carter Bays and Craig Thomas are masterful and hilarious storytellers, and we have no doubt that they will guide one of the greatest comedies of the last decade to a gratifying conclusion when they finally reveal the identity of the mother.”

The eighth season of How I Met Your Mother premiered on September 24, 2012. Throughout the season, relationships have been broken up and formed, all inevitably leading to two major events — Robin and Barney’s wedding, and Ted meeting the mother. The season finale will air May 13, 2013.

Are you excited for a ninth and final season of How I Met Your Mother?