The 5 Stages of Coping with the Death of a TV Show

By Contributor

December 16, 2011

But they're definitely bringing back Arrested Development, right, lucy_stop_flying? ANY DAY NOW. –Sparkitors

It happens. The characters you love and know, the plots you adore, and the music that tells you everything will be all right—all of it must end. When a favorite TV show finishes for good, there are a few stages every fan, whether they've been watching from the beginning or devouring it on DVD 5 years after the finale, must go through.

1. Delusion. In this stage you try to kid yourself into believing that the show wasn’t your whole life, that it doesn’t matter to you that it’s all over, and that you most certainly didn’t sob throughout the entire last episode purely because it was the last episode. You might go for a walk, bake a cake, call a friend (no, not a Friend, a friend), whatever it takes to reassure yourself that life can go on.

2. Denial. You tell yourself it’s not actually over. The producers will probably sign on for another season! Even though you were watching it on DVD, the last season aired in 2005, and it had the perfect finale. That all means nothing. It's obviously the perfect time to get the cast back together and start a new season. It cannot be canceled forever.

3. Hallucinations. You’re inventing episodes. The characters are infiltrating your dreams. Every voice you hear has their accent, every song becomes the theme song. No one is as awesome a person as your favourite character. In extreme cases, you may wake up to find that you’ve rearranged the furniture in your house to mirror one of the sets.

4. Emptiness. There is nothing that will fill that half an hour (or 45 minutes) you used to spend watching your show. You will go on, but it will be with a hole in your heart, and you'll be as sullen and moody as Bella Swan. Nothing will be great again. If someone even mentions the show, or god forbid your favorite episode, you will probably collapse in hysterics.

5. Acceptance. There are other TV shows. Aaron Sorkin has worked on projects other than The West Wing. You still haven’t seen all the special features for every season or watched every interview with every cast member. AND you own all the box sets, so you can rewatch it from now to eternity!

Which show would you bring back if you were the president of television?