TV fans are not only mourning the imminent conclusion of Breaking Bad, but are also preparing for the end of Mad Men. The series was expected to air its final episodes early next year. AMC - the television channel responsible for both shows - has opted to temporarily put off the inevitable by splitting the seventh season of the retro advertising drama into two sections of 7 episodes each.

In the same way Breaking Bad’s ongoing final series was split down the middle, the two halves will be broadcast a year apart. The 2014 episodes will be be dubbed “The Beginning” with the 2015 ones called “The End of an Era”. All episodes will be produced together, with AMC simply holding the episodes back for an extra 12 months. Although this is likely to prove a frustration for many fans, it does mean there will be one extra episode of the show, which has traditionally produced 13 episode seasons.

The move should not be a major surprise for those familiar with AMC. The network has enjoyed three major successes - Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Other efforts such as The Killing (which was recently renewed after its initial cancellation, only to end up cancelled once again) have failed to attract the viewership of the bigger hitters. It’s understandable that they’re unwilling to let two-thirds of their major successes conclude in the space of 12 months. They are also planning spin-offs of Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

Mad Men, which premiered in 2007, is largely credited as the show that allowed AMC - once dedicated to screening classic films - to compete in both commercial and quality terms with the likes HBO.

Mad Men series seven will premiere in Spring 2014. As reported by Variety yesterday, creator Matthew Weiner has also recruited iconic screenwriter Robert Towne - of Chinatown fame - to join his team for the final stretch of Don Draper’s story.