'Shameless' Comes to a Shocking End
by EG
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the series finale of Shameless. The Showtime hit series finally came to an end this week. Star Emmy Rossum was unable to return to play a part in the finale thanks to the COVID pandemic. But supporting actor William H. Macy was still on hand, and that was enough to deliver some surprises in the final episode. Read on if you dare.
There had to be consequences.
After 11 seasons and 134 episodes, Showtime's Shameless wrapped its run Sunday with a series finale that was directly impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic in two key ways.
Ultimately, Frank's (William H. Macy) past catches up with him as a combination of COVID-19 and the effects of alcoholic dementia prove to be more than he can handle and the character dies alone in a hospital.
Meanwhile, the Gallaghers — save for Emmy Rossum's Fiona — reunite at the Alibi, unaware of their father's passing, to celebrate Ian and Mickey's wedding anniversary. The series ends without answering if Lip (Jeremy Allen White) sold the family home or if bar owners Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton) sold it and moved to Louisville.
As showrunner John Wells tells The Hollywood Reporter, the plan was always to have Frank face consequences of his addictions and horrible parenting — an agreement he made with his Emmy-nominated star Macy. While Wells had to rewrite the entire first half of the final season after production was stalled because of the pandemic, the prolific writer-producer (ER, The West Wing) added in Frank's covid demise in a bid to accurately reflect the struggles of an economically challenged community like the south side of Chicago.
The pandemic also prevented Rossum's return to reprise her role as former leading lady Fiona Gallagher as travel bans amid a covid surge eliminated that possibility. Original star Rossum departed Shameless in season nine with barely a mention of the character since.
That Shameless would end without providing resolution for what happens to the Gallagher children comes as little surprise as Wells has said for years that he always was drawn to a sense of life going on for the characters. Below, Wells talks with THR about Frank's fate, why he loves open-ended finales, what would have happened with Fiona and, yes, the mandatory spinoff question.
What went into the decision to kill off Frank — with covid — after he was diagnosed with alcoholic dementia?
"We planned on alcoholic dementia when we were only a few days from shooting when everything shut down in March [2020]. Bill [Macy] and I had always made deal that there would have to be consequences for all of Frank's abuse to his body, between the drugs and alcohol. We arrived at alcoholic dementia and had written more than half the season when we shut down," Wells says.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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