The eighth season of "How I Met Your Mother" is set to begin on Monday, Sept. 24. There is a lot of speculation that the show will have an additional season after this, but there is reason to believe that this will be it for the show. Star Neil Patrick Harris recently said that he believes that the eighth season will be the last. "Our contracts end at [Season] 8, so it's one of those, you know, if they wanna do nine, they're welcome to, but we have a lot of other things [going on]," he said.
So while a lot of rumors figure to swirl around the future of the show, fans can at least take comfort in knowing that the upcoming season will go off without a hitch. As the potentially final season begins, here are a few storylines to watch for in the coming months.
What will happen with the Barney and Robin saga?
In the Season 7 finale, it was revealed that Barney and Robin will indeed get married one day. With that mystery solved, the big question will revolve around how they get there. The season premiere has already promised to feature scenes from that wedding, but it doesn't look like the show will jump forward in time. In fact, star Cobie Smulders has revealed that Robin will start dating a new man early in the eighth season. With that in mind, how long will it take for the two to get together? Will they start dating midway through the season in order to set up a potential final episode involving the wedding? What will happen with Barney's engagement to Quinn? Answers to some of these should start to play out soon, though they figure to develop slowly.What about Ted's quest for love?
Over the last few seasons, "How I Met Your Mother" has spent more time on Barney's love life than it has on Ted's. With any luck, that will change this season. After all, the name of the show suggests that Ted will, in fact, meet the mother of his children before the end. It has already been said that he meets her at the wedding, which means that fans might have to wait until the finale to learn her identity. In the meantime, it would be nice to see Ted continue his quest in a way that resembles the first few seasons of the show.How will Marshall and Lily adjust to being parents?
In addition to the Barney news in the Season 7 finale, the other big storyline involved the birth of Marshall and Lily's baby. Now that they are finally parents, how will that dynamic impact the show? Will the baby figure prominently into storylines, or will it merely serve a bit part? Will the couple still have time to hang out with their pals at the bar? Obviously, things will be different for the two in the eighth season. That could be a good thing, because fresh storylines might be just what "How I Met Your Mother" needs as its run winds down.
