Last week it was announced that after eight long years, House – possibly one of my favorite TV shows ever – is going to be cancelled. I’m sure I’m not the only one who was greatly shocked and affected by this news. House has stood by me for many years and saying goodbye is going to be pretty tough. Losing a TV show is not something to be taken lightly. Like the death of a pet, a break up or your favorite jumper being shrunk in the wash, parting ways with a TV show can be a pretty hard thing to come to terms with.  Obviously, losing House is going to be nothing compared to tragedy’s like Friends (R.I.P), but it’s still going to be tricky, so here are my top tips for dealing with the loss of your favorite TV show being cancelled.

Let it sink in. When you first hear the news, you’re `probably not going to believe it can be true. This is called denial. You’re going to watch the last few episodes of the series and even though you know these are the last few hours you will ever spend with this beautiful show, you’re not going to let yourself cry. Why? Because you’re going to convince yourself that come September the show will be back, same as it always has been. This is a time when you need to come to terms with your loss. Give yourself time to let it happen, but in the end, you’re going to have to accept that from now on, you’re living in a different world.

Allow yourself to grieve. You’ve spent years loyally committed to these characters. You’ve helped them through the bad times, the surgeries, the suicides. And they’ve helped you through the long car journeys and days when you were feeling sick and watched a whole series box set in one day. Feelings like these don’t just go away, you need to time to say goodbye, allow yourself to be sad. You can even cry if you want – this is all part of putting the past behind you and beginning to move on.

Remember the good times.  Of course, re-runs are never going to fill the hole that the cancellation has created, but you have to face that from now on, reruns are all that you have. And reruns can be great. They let you remember all those fun times you had together. Think back to your favorite few episodes you spent together and start with those. Then move onto a whole series you haven’t seen in a while; re-watch the pilot episode. Soon you’ll find yourself enjoying reruns nearly as much as you enjoyed brand new episodes, and everything will be okay.

But finally, you have to move on. I’m not saying its not still going to hurt. And you have to accept that that pain may never go away. You’ll think it’s gone; you won’t think about the show for a couple of weeks and then BAM, out of the blue you’ll catch sight of an old poster or come across the box set in the DVD store and it will be like it’s happening all over again. But life goes on, pilot season will come around again and suddenly you’ll find your heart filling with joy once more as you browse the TV listings and catch sight of a new show, a younger, perkier show. And I know it may not seem like this at the moment but your life will go back to normal! You will get over this. It’s all going to be okay. And finally, incredibly, one day…

You’ll find someone new.  I’m not trying to say that there will ever be a show that can actually replace your favorite. But you have to believe that you can find TV show love again. You will start with a fling, something you know you’re not going to form a relationship with, something that’s just fun. But once you’re past this phase, you will find yourself considering something more serious, something you can settle down with. A crime show? A law show? Even, dare I say it, another medical show?