When Good Friends Say Goodbye: A Parasocial Breakup Study Keren Eyal and Jonathan Cohen This study examines viewers’reactions to parasocial breakup with medi- ated characters in light of interpersonal and mass communication theo- ries. Following the airing of the last episode of the television show Friends, 279 students completed surveys assessing their viewing habits, their attitudes toward the show and their favorite character, and their loneliness. The intensity of the parasocial relationship with the favorite character is the strongest predictor of breakup distress. Other predictors include commitment and affinity to the show, the character’s perceived popularity, and the participant’s loneliness. The results shed light on the similarities and differences between parasocial and social relationships. Final episodes of long-running and greatly loved television series achieve famously high ratings (Battaglio, 2001). It was hardly surprising, then, that an estimated 51 mil- lion viewers tuned in to view the final episode of Friends, which aired in the United States on May 6, 2004 (Associated Press, 2004). Although viewers were no doubt aware that they would be able to see their friends from Friends over and over again in reruns and DVDs, the last episode seemed to mark a farewell of some import to many millions. The vast majority of viewers know that their relationships with television characters are imaginary (Caughey, 1985), and yet, as the ratings numbers and the general commotion around this and other finale shows suggest, the end of such rela- tionships is emotionally meaningful. What do viewers feel when relationships with television characters come to an end? To what extent are separations from television characters similar to endings of personal relationships? What factors impact the inten- sity of feelings associated with such breakups? Which viewers experience these feel- ings more strongly than others? This study attempts to answer these questions with data collected from viewers immediately after the end of Friends. This study is set within the framework of parasocial relationships (PSRs). Initially defined by Horton and Wohl (1956) as a “seeming face-to-face relationship between spectator and performer” (p. 215), PSRs have been widely studied, both in terms of © 2006 Broadcast Education Association Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 50(3), 2006, pp. 502–523 502 Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media/September 2006 Keren Eyal (Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara), is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Com- munication at the University of Arizona. Her research interests include media effects, with a focus on youth socialization, and audience members’ relationships with mediated characters. Jonathan Cohen (Ph.D., University of Southern California), is a Senior Lecturer in and Chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Haifa. His research interests include the study of mediated relation- ships with TV characters, media perceptions and effects, and global television in Israel.