More than three million people tuned in for the eagerly awaited finale of cable television drama "Mad Men", according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen.

A total of 3.3 million viewers watched Sunday's farewell to the award-winning show which charted the tangled lives of New York advertizing executives in the middle of the last century.

The finale -- which ended with tormented anti-hero Don Draper (Jon Hamm) chanting at a cliffside California retreat -- was widely praised by critics as the curtain came down on the show after eight seasons.

It was the third best audience for the show in its history. The highest ratings numbers went to the 2012 season five premiere, which saw 3.5 million people tune in.

Creator Matthew Weiner's drama, set between the late 1950s and early 1970s, won four Golden Globes and 15 Emmys during its run.

The AMC show is one of several highly-polished dramas to emerge during the past decade, which has been described as a new "Golden Age" of US television.

But the finale figures for "Mad Men" pale into comparison to the numbers for other prominent shows.

Some 11.2 million people tuned in for the 2007 finale of HBO drama "The Sopranos" while 10.6 million fans watched the last episode of "Sex and the City." AMC's teacher-turned-drug baron drama "Breaking Bad" earned 10.3 million when it wrapped up in 2013.
Source: AFP