'How I Met Your Mother' set to return for Season 9

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" was renewed for a ninth season after star Jason Segel agreed to return, Deadline.com reported.

The show's future was unclear because Segel reportedly wanted to leave to focus on his successful film career; however, he signed on Friday for an additional season.

"I'm happy the world(s) didn't end," Alyson Hannigan, who plays Segel's on-screen wife on the sitcom, tweeted, posting a link to Deadline.com's story about the renewal and referring to the much-exaggerated, ancient Mayan prediction about the Dec. 21, 2012 end of the world.