R.I.P. Kutner: Parasocial Grief Following the Death of a Television Character

Abstract

In 2009, Lawrence Kutner, a character on television’s House, M.D., unexpectedly committed suicide. A Facebook memorial group was created shortly thereafter in memory of the fictional character. A thematic analysis of fan postings on Kutner’s Facebook memorial page revealed evidence of people experiencing parasocial grief as they displayed emotional expressions of grief, reminisced, and advocated for Kutner. Through thematic analysis, we discovered that elements of parasocial relationships, particularly parasocial breakups, were apparent as the members posted evidence of their grief over the loss of a television character. Moreover, this parasocial grief is likely to be disenfranchised, as the death of a television character is typically not recognized by others as a legitimate loss. This study also highlighted the role of social media as an outlet for grief as well as revealed confusion between fiction and reality resulting from social media.