CBS reveals 'How I Met Your Mother' series finale airdate

How I Met Your Mother is counting down the episodes until its Season 9 and series finale, and CBS has revealed the exact date and time that Ted, Barney, Robin, Marshall and Lily will say goodbye.

CBS announced on Thursday that the hit sitcom would end its 24-episode final season with an hour-long series finale on Monday, March 31. Yes, you read that correctly. MARCH 31. Most network shows typically end in May, but HIMYM will be ending a few weeks early.

That's the bad news. The good news is that the early end date means that HIMYM will air a string of new episodes nearly uninterrupted from Jan. 13 until March 31. The show will only take a break twice due to NBC's coverage of the Olympics.

The March 31 finale date also allows CBS to air its new sitcom Friends With Better Lives, which stars James Van Der Beek and Kevin Connolly as two friends who, as the title implies, think that their friends all have better lives than they do. The first episode of the new sitcom will air at 9 p.m. on Monday, March 31, immediately after HIMYM goes off the air. The show will then move to its regular time slot at 8:30 p.m. beginning on April 7. Starting on April 14, 2 Broke Girls will take over HIMYM's 8 p.m. time slot.

Here's the full CBS schedule for the three-week period (all times are p.m.):

Monday, March 31
8: How I Met Your Mother (one-hour series finale)
9: Friends With Better Lives
9:30: Mom
10: Intelligence

Monday, April 7
8: The Big Bang Theory (encore)
8:30: Friends With Better Lives
9: NCAA Basketball

Monday, April 14
8: 2 Broke Girls
8:30: Friends With Better Lives
9: Mike & Molly
9:30: Mom
10: Intelligence