“How I Met Your Mother” is meeting its ninth season, CBS and 20th Century Fox confirmed Wednesday.
The CBS comedy has been officially picked for one final go-round in 2013-14 after protracted negotiations to bring its ensemble cast together for what will no doubt be an expensive season.
The renewal for a new season was widely expected, but it took time to get the full cast on board. As with any series that has lasted as long as “Mother,” the actors’ pricetags have gotten costlier for each additional year.
Jason Segel, in fact, has had a burgeoning film career since the show began in 2005 and he was reportedly the last actor to finally come on board.
Much to the delight of many fans, creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays will finally reveal who the mother is to the two children who often open the episodes.
“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,” said CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. “We are excited for Carter, Craig, Pam Fryman and this amazing cast to tell the final chapter and reveal television’s most mysterious mother to some of TV’s most passionate fans.”
Show has been a goldmine for producing studio Twentieth Century Fox, which receives a healthy license fee from CBS. By the time the show finishes its run in 2014, it will have passed 200 episodes.
Said studio chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman: “We’re thrilled to have the entire cast back for one final season to bring the series to a proper close. Carter and Craig 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.”
This season, “Mother” is averaging a 4.0/11 in adults 18-49 and 9.8 million viewers overall, which is down about 10% from last year but still a healthy number in today’s competitive broadcast environment.
It remains CBS’ top program among adults 18-34, a demo that the Eye prizes because of older viewers who tune in for many of the net’s other shows.
Earlier in the month at the Television Critics Assn. tour in Pasadena, Tassler indicated a deal to bring the show back was imminent.
“I will be very happy to report in a very few days that things will be resolved,” she said at the time. “We’re very confident and excited that things will all work out, and almost everything is completed.”
At the press confab, Tassler also said the marketing campaign would likely focus on it being the final season for “Mother.” That could bring back viewers who might have turned away over the last few years but may want to return to see who the mysterious mom actually is.
Bays, Thomas, in-house director Fryman, Chris Harris, Stephen Lloyd, Chuck Tatham and Kourtney Kang are exec producers.
