It might be among the worst-kept secrets in TV about now, though while neither CBS nor 'How I Met Your Mother' series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have issued an official statement about the long-running comedy continuing on for a ninth and final season, series stars Josh Radnor and Neil Patrick Harris were all-too-happy to speak about the additional year. Will 'How I Met Your Mother' season 9 stall the titular meeting, or make for a better ending? Find out what Ted and Barney themselves have to say inside!

'How I Met Your Mother' season 9 is all-but-officially confirmed, but that didn't stop stars Josh Radnor or Neil Patrick Harris from speaking out about the story in recent interviews. At Sundance, Radnor said of the un-confirmed renewal to Access Hollywood, "It was great [to get another season]. When there was fear that we were suddenly just going to not come back, it felt a little weird to end like, oh, 10 more episodes and you’re done with this massive chapter of your life.”

Neil Patrick Harris said even more of the imminent renewal to MSN, claiming that an additional season allows the series to meet the mother more organically than rush through mythology at the end of the season:

I’m very stoked that everyone agreed to a Season 9. We have been waiting, literally months and months and months to find out whether the whole thing was going to end this season or one more. It isn’t, thankfully, not going to go 10, 11 or 12 seasons because no one wants that, but with a Season 9, they have a really great idea for the entire season that is appropriate for waiting so long for answers. And conversely I’m happy we didn’t have to spend eight seasons dancing around a question and then have to answer it in three episodes.

Well, what say you? Is that official enough confirmation of 'How I Met Your Mother' season 9? Would you have liked the show to end after the current season? Give us your thoughts in the comments!

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