We're not sure what everyone was watching on Sunday night, but the season seven premiere of Mad Men pulled in disappointing ratings - down 34 per cent, in fact. AMC's signature drama averaged just 2.3 million viewers at 10pm - that's down from 3.4 million who watched the premiere a year ago. It was the lowest premiere for Mad Men since its second season in 2008.

Mad MenDon [L] is trying to save his marriage to Megan [R]

As it did with Breaking Bad, AMC has decided to split the final of Mad Men into two seven-episode runs, with the final set saved for Spring 2015. As the New York Times noted, the numbers may jump when delayed viewing is counted but it still represents a sharp and unusual falloff for a programme considered one of the biggest on U.S television.

Season 7 of Mad Men opened in February 1969, two months after the close of season 6, with the characters - including Jon Hamm's Don Draper - dealing with the dynamics of lives and offices being split between New York and Los Angeles. Don flies out to the West Coast to salvage his marriage to Megan.

Last week, the network introduced its new Revolutionary War drama Turn, which attracted 2.1 million viewers. Elsewhere on Sunday, viewers were more than happy to tune in for HBO's Game of Thrones, which averaged 6.3 million viewers - still, 0.3 million down on the premiere a week ago.

Mad Men season 7 continues on Sunday (April 20, 2014).

Watch Jon Hamm and his wife arriving for Letterman: