YES INDEED - THAT WAS "THE MOTHER"

Cristin Milioti ("Once") is Cast as "The Mother"

In the very last scene of last night's eighth season finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, viewers finally got to meet the titular "Mother" as she purchases her train ticket to Farhampton, where she will eventually meet Ted. Broadway star Cristin Milioti ("Once") plays "The Mother."

Shot on March 27 at the Twentieth Century Fox lot in Los Angeles, Milioti's casting and filming of her scene was kept in strict secrecy in order to preserve the surprise for the audience.

"It was a pretty big umbrella to fill, casting the title role in a series that's been on the air for eight years," says Carter Bays, Executive Producer and Co-Creator of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. "And yet Cristin Milioti is, against all odds, exactly what we were looking for. She made us laugh on "30 Rock," she made us swoon in "Once," and her ukulele skills are no joke. We're thrilled to welcome her to the HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER family, and look forward to getting to know her - and the character she plays - much better in the coming final season. And to all the fans, on behalf of all of us writers, cast and crew: Thank you for sticking with us on this wild journey. Our ninth season will tell the epic story of the longest wedding weekend ever. We hope you like it. Next stop, Farhampton..."

Cristin Milioti just concluded her star turn as "Girl" in the Broadway smash hit musical "Once," for which she received a Grammy Award as well as a Tony Award nomination for Lead Actress. Milioti will soon be seen playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the upcoming Martin Scorsese feature film, "The Wolf of Wall Street," due out later this year. Her previous television credits include "30 Rock," "The Sopranos," "The Good Wife" and "Nurse Jackie."

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER returns this fall to CBS for its ninth and final season. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television. Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Pamela Fryman, Chris Harris, Stephen Lloyd, Chuck Tatham and Kourtney Kang are Executive Producers.