Shameless is only a few days away from coming back for a ninth season of the Gallaghers hustling to make it through the day and getting into trouble.
The latest season will also serve as star Emmy Rossum’s final installment in the role of Fiona Gallagher, which showrunner John Wells already promised would come to an end with a proper Gallagher-worthy ending for her character.
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We have many episodes to get through before the coming goodbye, as the 14-episode second season premieres Sunday.
“We’ve been watching these characters grow up,” Wells told Entertainment Weekly about the season. “We get to tell these stories of people becoming adults — and, of course, Frank, who is never planning on being an adult.”
In anticipation of the season premiere, Showtime released new photos from the cast and upcoming episodes, along with some scoop to the outlet about where their characters go next.
Frank (William H. Macy)
After spending most of the eighth season attempting to make a living within the law, Frank will be heading back to a life of crime and lies.
“There’s a great kick off,” William H. Macy told Entertainment Weekly. “Frank has a new liver and he’s been taking anti-rejection drugs and they need to be changed every couple years. At any rate, Frank turns yellow and his pee is brown, so he goes to the doctor and they say, ‘We’ve got to put you on the new drug,’ but he can’t afford it because he has no insurance and he has no money and it costs a fortune. It’s a bit of an indictment on Big Pharma and the healthcare system. All he can do is go on the generic version, which has a lot of side effects, one of which is impotence.”
“And in true Gallagher fashion, he meets this woman (Katey Sagal) who’s as nutty as a fruitcake,” he added. “And he likes her, so his problem with erectile dysfunction suddenly disappears.”
Also expect Frank to make his way into politics, as he will be getting involved in a political campaign.
Fiona (Emmy Rossum)
When we last saw Fiona, she had successfully gotten rid of the squatters in her building and carried on a relationship with Ford. For her final season as a regular, Emmy Rossum said viewers will see Fiona juggle her business success with her family loyalty.
“I love to watch her succeed and I love to watch her as a small business owner win and expand,” she added. “You watch her at the beginning of the season and she’s dressed better and she’s wearing Aviators and doing business deals and Liam is advising her. It’s a really cool vibe of watching this young woman who you’ve watched be so selfless for so long be a little selfish.”
Lip (Jeremy Allen White)
At the end of season eight, Lip ended things with on-again, off-again girlfriend Sierra and took in young Xan after Eddie abandons her. Jeremy Allen White teased he will still be taking care of the girl, figuring out where she fits within the family.
“He really thinks that she’s striving and surviving with the Gallaghers and fits in there, but he also knows that she does have her own family somewhere, so you see him really struggling with the responsibility of where she belongs,” he told EW. “And then later in the season, you see him trying to form a relationship for the first time since he’s really been clean.”
Unlike when he was with Sierra, this will be the first relationship Lip will navigate fully sober.
“It changes the progression and it’s all new territory for him, so it’s interesting to see him play in a romantic relationship now and how to handle Xan and find out where she fits in with all their kind of craziness.”
Ian (Cameron Monaghan)
After his “Gay Jesus” movement turns violent, Ian was arrested at the end of the season. Cameron Monaghan revealed that when actions kickstarts Ian will be facing the aftermath of his actions.
“He was behind this movement that in many ways he does believe is fundamentally right, but that he knows definitely got out of hand and continues to see be out of hand,” Monaghan said. “He’s trying to come to terms with his mental illness and how much of an impact it had on the things that he did. He’s trying to come to terms with how other people perceive him versus how he perceives himself. He’s trying to understand his place within the world, within religion, what God means to him.”
Monaghan also said Ian’s journey will lead him to a sort-of “full circle” moment as he figures out his identity within his actions in the past eight seasons.
“It’s nice to have some closure. There’s some really, really beautiful moments this season for Ian and I think it’s a really good one for him,” he added.
Debbie (Emma Kenney)
Debbie had a somewhat traumatic eighth season as she lost a few toes in a welding accident, and the looming presence of her baby daddy — and his new girlfriend — may ruffle some feathers for the young mom. However, Emma Kenney said she will be steering toward fighting for women’s rights in season nine.
“It’s probably my favorite Debbie season yet, and I’m really excited about the woman that she’s becoming,” Kenney told the outlet. “I think with this show and the length that we’ve gone on there’s a responsibility that we all feel towards our characters and we all want the best for them at the end of the day.”
Carl (Ethan Cutkosky)
Despite a somewhat-psycho girlfriend/fiancee, Carl managed to get himself back on track in military school, which Ethan Cutkosky teases will help the character clean up his act a bit.
“Just try to see how he might act being a little proper for military school, but I don’t know if that will last for too long,” Cutkosky said. “We will see how much he wants to keep protecting and serving. But it’s a very interesting dynamic that Carl is going to be in, especially considering his intense relationship with Kassidi.”
Kevin (Steve Howey) and V (Shanola Hampton)
After a season of them trying to regain control of their bar, the couple had Svetlana marry a rich, older man who thought she was someone else.
“You will see her and Kev running their bar, running their life without Svetlana. There will be another character that will be introduced to them,” Shanola Hampton told the outlet.
“Kev and Veronica are living basically in present day so you will see how they adapt as business owners and people to that. We really talk about the present day economy vibe that is happening in the world right now and tackle issues like the #MeToo movement and some of the political stuff that is happening. We really go shameless in the way that we tackle all the issues,” she added.
Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter)
Hold on to your horses Shameless fans because Svetlana appears to have left the series after six seasons.
“You know what’s so funny — I have no idea what happened in the season finale,” Isidora Goreshter told the outlet. “There was the whole prenup thing and then she gets married to the guy and I’m still alive, so I’m guessing that leaves the door open for her to come back and make an appearance. I don’t really know what they have in store.”
The actress revealed she asked to be killed in a truly dramatic fashion, perfect for Svetlana, but Wells wanted to leave the door open for her to return in the future.
“I really wanted to have this gruesome death scene and just thought that would be appropriate for Svetlana. But John Wells was like, ‘No, no, no, no. We want to leave the door open because you never know what can happen.’ Ah, fine. I really wanted to, like, get thrown into the river. I guess that will have to wait — but we will see what happens,” Goreshter added.
Shameless returns for its ninth season on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 9 p.m. ET on Showtime.
