How I Met Your Mother has 9 seasons. The CBS sitcom premiered in September 2005 and concluded with its ninth and final season in March 2014, completing the long-running story of Ted Mosby searching for the mother of his children.
The show was initially expected to end after eight seasons. Negotiations among CBS, 20th Century Fox Television, and the cast eventually led to a ninth-season renewal, allowing the creators to finish the story on their intended broadcast schedule. Season 9 premiered on September 23, 2013, and contained 24 episodes.
A common mix-up is counting only the years when the show was actively in production or assuming that the ninth season was a short epilogue. In fact, the final season was a full broadcast season, although most of its story takes place during the 56 hours surrounding Barney and Robin's wedding. Across all nine seasons, the series released 208 episodes and revealed the identity of the Mother near the end of season 8.