CBS has announced that the series finale of How I Met Your Mother will air on Monday, March 31st, at 8pm. It’ll be a special one-hour episode.

Though, this airdate is much sooner than expected, the sitcom will still have aired 24 half hours this season. The remaining episodes will air January 13th, January 20th, January 27th, February 3rd, February 24th, March 3rd, March 10th, March 17th, March 24th, and March 31st.

The network will capitalize on the finale’s big audience by launching a new sitcom called Friends with Better Lives that same night, at 9pm. It follows six thirty-something friends who are at various stages of their lives and who each wonder if the others have it better.

On April 7th, Friends will shift to its regular timeslot at 8:30pm with a Big Bang Theory rerun as a lead-in. The following Monday, April 14th, 2 Broke Girls will take over HIMYM’s 8pm timeslot.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the big HIMYM finale? Will you check out Friends with Better Lives?