'Mad Men's final season to air in two parts

Take heart, "Mad Men" fans, Don Draper, Peggy Olsen and Pete Campbell won't be leaving the small screen until 2015.

AMC isn't quite ready to say goodbye to its landmark series, "Mad Men," so the network has decided to split its seventh and final season into two seven-episode halves -- the first airing in spring 2014 and the final airing in spring 2015.

The show, which first aired in 2007, is taking a cue from another AMC series, "Breaking Bad," which earned double the viewership for its second-half premiere than another other episode.

“We are determined to bring ‘Mad Men’ a similar showcase," AMC President Charlie Collier said. "In an era where high-end content is savored and analyzed, and catch-up time is used well to drive back to live events, we believe this is the best way to release the now 14 episodes than remain of this iconic series.”

“We plan to take advantage of this chance to have a more elaborate story told in two parts, which can resonate a little bit longer in the minds of our audience," showrunner Matt Weiner said in a statement.

The first seven shows will be called "The Beginning," and the last seven will be called "The End of an Era."

According to The New York Times, the split-season approach will also help AMC deal with the impending loss of its two most prestigious original series -- and develop more series to replace them.