List of How I Met Your Mother characters
The American sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. Created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, the show is presented from the perspective of Ted Mosby in 2030 ("Future Ted") as he tells his children how he met the titular mother. The show lasted for nine seasons and 208 episodes; the finale first aired on March 31, 2014.
How I Met Your Mother (season 9)
"How I Met Your Mother" was initially scheduled to run for eight seasons after CBS ordered a seventh and eighth season in 2011. The show gained a resurgence in ratings during season seven, and CBS began discussing the possibility of ordering a ninth season. By 2012, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that CBS, 20th Century Fox, and all regular cast members except Segel wanted to continue with a ninth season. Segel had initially wanted to focus on his film career, leaving the fate of a ninth season uncertain. Co-creator Carter Bays observed that the negotiations were stressful, with a lot of "white-knuckled, nail-biting going on", but claimed that he was "confident that everything would work out". Craig Thomas noted the flexibility of the show's filming schedule, saying: "We've always done everything humanly possible to allow [the actors] to do other things." Segel ultimately decided to sign on for the final season, and Season 9 was announced on December 21, 2012. Thomas and Bays were relieved that a deal had been reached for another season, fearing that having to wrap up the show in Season 8 would have "felt rushed" and been "disappointing".
Bays and Thomas were first introduced to Milioti as a possibility for playing The Mother through casting director Marisa Ross. Narrowing down the candidates to three actresses early on allowed the casting department to avoid a publicized casting call for The Mother. Milioti was flown into Los Angeles to do an on-camera "chemistry test" with Radnor as part of her audition. Harris, who is a Broadway fan and had recognized her in the makeup trailer, gave Milioti a hug and exclaimed "You're The Mother!" before she was actually cast. Milioti was chosen partly because her musical history and time on Broadway, including her performance in "Once", would have allowed her to play the role of The Mother, a musician, more convincingly. Bays and Thomas wanted to avoid casting someone who was well-known, fearing that the audiences' preconceptions of a famous actress might spill into her performance in the role. Milioti's casting was well received by critics, many of whom lauded the show for resisting the urge to cast a familiar face and instead opting for a relative unknown. Bill Kuchman from TV.com observed that, because "Milioti is a blank canvas to many of us", she has the "freedom to create a "How I Met Your Mother" character that's free of the burden of being compared to her past work".