The Rebirth of Death: Representation of Loss in Television Series

Though death has always represented a very common and recurring theme in serial narration on television, it was only during the last fifteen years that loss gained a significant role and became a main narrative topic. In 2001, thanks to Alan Ball, this revolution was realised through the production of Six Feet Under. This television series, about a family of funeral directors, received widespread critical acclaim, revealing the high level of audience interest in this topic. Due to this extraordinary success, representations of the mourning rituals and of the process of recovering from a loss have become very common subjects in television shows all over the world. In the course of the last five years, many documentary series concerning this topic have been realised. In my contribution I will analyse different representations of loss and models of grief produced by this innovative and unusual television sub-genre. Moreover, I will provide evidence as to how these television depictions condition and reflect the common contemporary behaviours in relation to loss.