Final answer:
The mother on the CBS sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother' was Tracy McConnell. This long-anticipated reveal was a key element of the show, which bucked traditional portrayals of the nuclear family in sitcoms since the 1960s and kept audiences guessing throughout its run.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mother in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother was a mystery that kept audiences engaged for many seasons. Throughout the show's runtime, various characters were potential candidates for being the mother of Ted Mosby's children. However, it turns out that the mother was C. Tracy McConnell.
Depicting family dynamics has been a common theme in television history. In the 1960s, shows like The Donna Reed Show and Father Knows Best epitomized the suburban U.S. nuclear family. Although sometimes they featured single parents, these were typically due to widowhood rather than divorce or having never married.
In contrast, How I Met Your Mother took a more modern approach to the concept of family and how relationships are turned into lifelong connections. Despite various relationships with other characters portrayed on the show, the true identity of the mother remained a focal point until the final reveal, with Tracy McConnell becoming a central figure once introduced.