How Do We Mourn Our Favorite Television Series?

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In order to survive season after season, popular television series rely heavily on their loyal fan bases to keep watching so that their ratings stay up and give them a good chance of being renewed. Unfortunately, however, many popular shows must come to their demises eventually.

At American University’s Kogod School of Business, researchers decided to examine the effects that “the loss of a TV series, which is a long-form narrative brand, has on consumer behavior and what happens to the consumer brand relationship.” For the study, the two main researchers and co-authors — Cristel Russell and Hope Jensen Schau — “spent more than a decade following loyal fan bases of four popular television shows — Entourage, The Sopranos, All My Children, and New Zealand drama Outrageous Fortune.”

The reactions all depended the most on whether the shows endured a “Good Death,” since the most loyal fans were going to need to learn how to cope without the beloved characters that had become like friends to them.

“Frasier” ran from 1993-2004.
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As Russell puts it, “TV fuels and sustains social and cultural bonds. TV series are especially powerful because they unfold over time, giving viewers a chance to think about and discuss the characters and the storylines with fellow viewers.” Therefore, what did the researchers discover about the most loyal fans when these four shows came to their demises? The reactions all depended the most on whether the shows endured a “Good Death,” since the most loyal fans were going to need to learn how to cope without the beloved characters that had become like friends to them.

According to Russell, the study found that “finales with an unambiguous ending provided fans with better closure, which is an important part of any grieving process.” This type of ending would let fans have the ability “to grieve “a life well lived” for their favorite characters, and they are more likely to continue to consume the brand in other forms, such as rerun episodes and boxed DVD sets.”

The flip side is that these groups, who have gathered together due to their shared love for the show that has ended, might try to band together and dispute the show’s demise in the forms of online forums and petitions.

Another finding from the study demonstrated “a loss accommodation process where super-fans wrestle with the following questions: Without the weekly television gathering to get “the gang” together, what keeps us involved and connected? Now that the brand is over, how do I reshape my identity without my favorite show? Will there be a spinoff?” Once a beloved show ends, those super fans “who have come to really love and care for their “friends” on TV experience their loss just like real-life break ups,” said Professor Russell. “This loss is dealt with in ways that are similar to physical loss by seeking others who feel the same way and finding ways to remember the good times they had when the show was alive.” The flip side is that these groups, who have gathered together due to their shared love for the show that has ended, might try to band together and dispute the show’s demise in the forms of online forums and petitions.

“Gilmore Girls“
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Personally, these findings don’t really surprise me that much because I have had shows I absolutely loved end in a way in which I didn’t really feel as much closure as I would have liked. The biggest example of a beloved television show where I felt the “grief and pain similar to mourning the death of a “real” loved one” that this study examined was the popular 2000s series, “Gilmore Girls.” When this show ended, I felt like I lost a group of my closest friends or people who seemed like a second family to me. To this day, I still wish the show was still on the air, or at least that I could’ve known what would’ve happen for the rest of the lives of all my favorite characters. I have been known to participate in engaging conversations and debates about the show with my friends, who share a similar love for the show, as a way to accommodate for my loss. I also still hold out hope that either the show will be revived or a movie will happen, but until then I will continue to watch reruns and revel in the clever wittiness fused with so many tidbits of pop culture and the lovable, quirky characters of one of my favorite shows.