Upfront 08

Much to the chagrin of die-hard fans of “How I Met Your Mother,” as of Sunday afternoon, CBS hadn’t officially renewed the half-hour sitcom. But while producer 20th Century Fox TV was still waiting for official word of a pickup, there was one sign that the “HIMYM” gang will be back in the fall.

Series co-star Neil Patrick Harris has prepared some schtick for Wednesday’s CBS upfront event at Carnegie Hall, an agent familiar with his plans said. He’s also scheduled to be in New York this week.

While inviting a performer to appear at an upfront isn’t the same thing as an official order, it’s unlikely CBS would go to the trouble of inviting Harris to hype “HIMYM” if it didn’t plan on renewing the show.

The fates of two other 20th-produced series are less certain. Both “Shark” and “The Unit” remained on the bubble Sunday.

While there’s been speculation that “Unit” is more likely to return, at least one top agent said Sunday that the current buzz was that both shows could be goners. CBS, of course, isn’t commenting.

In any case, all this tea-leaf reading soon will be moot. CBS is expected to quietly confirm its series orders as early as Monday.

—Josef Adalian