‘Shameless’ Cast and Creator Reveal How the Show Can End

The cast and crew of Shameless are starting to think about how the show could end as it heads into its eighth season this weekend. Producer John Wells thinks they can write about the Gallagher family forever, but there has to be an end at some point.

“As compared to what we did when we were doing China Beach, where their deployment ends and people go home, this show, on the other hand, these fictional characters’ lives will continue for another 60, 70 years,” Wells told Entertainment Weekly, noting how different this show is from his 1988-1991 ABC drama.

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“We can write it forever, because things are going to keep happening to them,” Wells continued. “I suspect on this show, we’re much more likely to just walk away on a Tuesday and let the audience feel like the Gallaghers are out there and doing okay, rather than some calamitous event — the hospital’s closing! The war is over! The president is leaving office! This is really just a story about a family’s life, and going through whatever struggles they’re going through.”

Wells suggested that the show might just end without a big finale. It could continue until the cast decides they don’t want to make it any longer.

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“More than likely, we’ll probably just drop out of it at some point, likely when some of the cast members decide they don’t want to continue anymore,” the producer told EW. “That’ll probably be the end of the show more than anything else.”

William H. Macy, who has earned four Emmy nominations for playing Frank Gallagher, told EW that he has started to think about life after the show. However, he thinks there could be two more seasons.

Emmy Rossum, who stars as Fiona, said she always envisioned the show ending with Frank’s death.

“The line has been floated several times that Frank’s a cockroach,” Macy told EW. “He’ll survive a thermonuclear blast. He should have been dead a long, long time ago. Who knows?”

The eighth season of Shameless kicks off on Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.

Photo credit: Facebook/Shameless