The One ‘Shameless’ Scene Showtime Wanted to Pull

Throughout Shameless‘ nine-season run, fans of the Showtime series have come to expect insane antics from the Gallagher family, like the time Frank nonchalantly cut off three of his daughter’s toes with a pair of garden sheers, or when Fiona led the charge in digging up their dead Aunt Ginger in the backyard, or when Lip urinated on Frank’s head after Frank slept with his girlfriend — just to name a few.

But in the end, there was one scene that proved to be too much for Showtime to air. William H. Macy (Frank) told The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday that the network came back with notes on a scene in which Frank steals… a library book?

“Frank stole a library book, and Showtime didn’t want us to do that,” Macy said, laughing, when asked about the funniest note the cast and crew have received from the network. “We were like, ‘That’s the line? With everything else we’ve done?!”

And although the show is known for its shocking twists and turns, that shock was unmatched to the surprise fans felt when Emmy Rossum (Fiona) announced she’d be leaving the show after the ninth season. But showrunner John Wells said that he knew she had “been considering it for a while.”

“I tried to encourage her to come back, because we want her here, but she has other things that she is excited about doing — the Angelyne show and a few things that she’s directing. She came to the definitive decision a few weeks ago. We’ll miss her,” Wells told THR in the same interview. “At the same time, there are a lot more Gallagher stories to tell.”

“It’s painful, wonderful, exciting and a little frightening,” Wells continued. “We’re rewriting the end of this season. I’m rethinking episodes 13 and 14, so we can deal with Fiona leaving in a way that feels true to the show and also sets us up for more storytelling in the future.”

He added that they’re leaving her departure open-ended so that Rossum can return later if she so decides.

“Everything that we’ll do with Fiona leaving and then hopefully returning at some point in the future — should Emmy choose to — will be based on that basic premise that these are damaged people who still really love each other and pull together to get through things,” Wells continued.

Macy jumped in, saying that while it’s “sad” Rossum is leaving, “people have been moving in and out, and they tend to come back.”

“I can’t tell you how close these imaginary circumstances are to real life. It doesn’t feel like goodbye forever,” he added, “Fiona’s got to come back. She’s going to leave clothes there!”

Season 9 of Shameless airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Showtime.