How I Met Your Mother season 8 kicked off last night (September 24th) and many are wondering: is this the last season ever? Is it finally time to find out how Ted met his wife? According to Entertainment weekly, it might just be.

"We sort of come in every day and go, 'This is the last season of How I Met Your Mother' until we hear different. We really feel like this launches the last season," explained co-creator Craig Thomas. So now season 8 is poised like a fine balancing act, the writers will be ready for the much anticipated reveal, with a backup plan ready just in case they have to delay to a ninth season. "I don't want to say because ultimately when we do cast the actress who's the mother, it's going to have to be shrouded in secrecy, so if it already happened, we already did it, we don't want to say," Thomas continued. So, a double edged sword for fans; some will hope the laughs carry on, and some will want to finally meet the elusive mother to Ted's (played by Josh Radnor) children.

To even get to an 8th season is a fantastic feat for an American sitcom, especially considering the cutthroat industry that is television. But with great ratings, a show is always set for renewal. Season 1 of How I Met. garnered an impressive 9.4m viewers, but the real sign of a show's longevity is how many return for the second, and it didn't disappoint with just fewer than 9m. Incredibly, more 9.6m people tuned in for season 7, proving that if a 9th season was commissioned, it would have the legs to survive.