Image Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS

How I Met Your Mother fans are likely not yet recovered from Monday’s season finale. I’m not, at least. And after you read our Q&A with executive producer Craig Thomas, in which he talks about the finale and what to expect from next season (Robin and Barney!?!), you’ll probably be left wanting new episodes of Mother more than you already do. Sorry in advance. Hey, at least we suffer through this hiatus together.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First, that wedding. You’re pretty cruel leaving it there. But I love that you’re going there with Barney. How did you decide that?
CRAIG THOMAS: Well it was really fun this season to see Barney looking forward a little bit. This is a guy who’s kind of trapped in one mode all his adult life of just being awesome and legendary and a horrible womanizer. It meant a lot to him to reconnect with his father and see another possible future, someone genetically related to him who found contentment in family life. It got under his skin a little bit. That wedding is taking place at an indeterminate time in the future that we are being incredibly and annoyingly vague about — but we can’t quite tell anybody exactly when that’s happening. Barney Stinson, for the first time in his life, is looking into the future and going, “Maybe there is something more out there for me than what I’ve done.” So it’s fun to write, and I will say this: The premiere of season 7 starts off at the same future wedding where we learn a little bit more, though I can’t say exactly what we learn cause that one doesn’t air until September. We just learned one half of the equation in the finale, that it’s Barney, and we don’t know who the other person is, but in season 7 we’ll — I can’t say exactly when or how — but we will obviously learn the other half the that equation in season 7. For sure. READ FULL STORY »