So, the island was purgatory, right? After 11 seasons of debauchery, drinking, and downright denial, Shameless and the Gallagher crew said farewell in the April 11 series finale, Father Frank, Full of Grace with an expected ending and more than a few lingering questions about the surviving characters. The Iron Throne melted down?! Showtimes long-running series,Shameless, concluded with the series finale on April 11, 2021 and the death of Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy). Offers may be subject to change without notice. Frank Gallagher(William H. Macy) is diagnosed with the coronavirus in a hospital and soon dies while on a ventilatora most harrowing cautionary scene amid the current pandemic. He eventually returned positive for COVID-19 and died in the ER after the nurses and doctors discovered the "DNR" instruction on his chest. What are our responsibilities to each other? It was a fine line, trying to ride an ongoing conversation in the country. It seemed unrealistic to do something about the south side of Chicago and people living barely above the poverty line and not have anybody succumb to this horrible pandemic.. It's unclear as to whether he dies from his alcoholic dementia, from COVID-19 complications, or as a result of his recent overdose. We were always planning for him to pass away from something at the end. No, Shameless season 11 was considered the final season of the American show. Though the shows are superficially dissimilar, Wells sees all of them as examinations of function or dysfunction. In an interview with TVLine, Wells added that there isnt any hope of aShamelessspinoff for Frank or the rest of the Gallaghers. With all the comorbidity that Frank had, Bill and I both talked about it, he continued. Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. We very much wanted to try and bring back Fiona for the finale, but there was just no way to make it all work with the pandemic. We were also trying to address things about lack of housing. Was there ever a story that you wished you had contextualized more? It's a question we've asked about William H. Macy's character more times than we'd like to admit, as his rambunctious behavior has left him with plenty of hospital stays and even at the bottom of a lake. Fiona Gallagher, the eldest sister and guardian of the family, departed the show during the season 9 finale. His character has had so many ups and downs over the years, and in the episodes leading up to the finale, things were on the downswing. Another hint that Frank is dead comes from the title and synopsis of the last episode, "Father Frank, Full of Grace." Shameless fans were wondering about Jimmy / Steve since he left the show for good back in Season 5 and had been hoping he would return to whisk Fiona away. - April 12, 2021 11:49 am EDT. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher) were the opposite of that, as they pieced together the furniture for their new lives outside of the Gallagher residence. Despite what would usually be a turning point for most people, Frank returns to his old ways very soon. The rest of the Gallagher kids, seemingly oblivious to the death of their dad, prepare to finally sell their longtime family home and start new, more independent lives. Yeah. But it could be that it's just his body in a coffin that we will be seeing, or we might be treated to some flashbacks in the final episode. Then three days before shooting began on a season in which the mostly grown-up Gallaghers finally disperse, production was shut down for months. See TV's most controversial series finales: The series ended its 11-season run on April 11, 2021. When the show was revived in 2018 after 21 years, it forgot all about its controversial ending. But it seems we might have finally found an answer to that question. Never has a series finale more nakedly telegraphed the idea "We like this character and may want to do more with him some day" before. Taking incidents like this into consideration, it seems that the man insists on living on his terms and possibly have control over his death too. We did what we set out to do. And NO. The pandemic also prevented Rossums return to reprise her role as former leading lady Fiona Gallagher when travel bans amid a COVID surge eliminated that possibility. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and celebrity gossip. But it remains to be seen if the Frank chapter of Shameless will end with the series coming to a close. Frank has so many possible comorbidities Covid is just the thing that finally pushed him over the edge. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. As news headlines about the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease continue to increase, so has concern over its potential to affect employee welfare, disrupt global supply chains and slow business operations. Not that theres ever a good transition after that, but focusing on the episode Frank rises above the South Side on his bar stool, beer in hand, looking back on his life. After suffering from memory lapses, he was diagnosed with early-stage alcoholic dementia. On Sunday, April 11, the hit Showtime dramedy series Shamelesscame to an end after 11 seasons. Was Frank destined to die all along? Kev (Steve Howey) and V (Shanola Hampton) plan a move to Kentucky. If you hated the way Lena Dunham's HBO comedy ended, with a half-hour that focused merely on Hannah Horvath with a bit of Allison Williams' Marnie thrown in, helping to raise Hannah's baby, may we suggest you think of it as merely an ill-advised epilogue and allow the penultimate episodewhich saw Hannah saying goodbye to all of the titular girls in a truly emotionally effective half-hourto act as the show's true finale. Portland, Maine, United States . He eventually returned positive for COVID-19 and died in the ER after the nurses and doctors discovered the DNR instruction on his chest. Fiona, unfortunately, wasn't with the rest of the family at the end of the show, though most fans had hoped the character would be making a comeback. The finale doesnt offer any resolution about whether Lip sold the house, what happened with Debs (Emma Kenney) and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) and Liam (Christian Isaiah) or if Kev and Vee sell the Alibi and move to Louisville. We will never know. Except times precious. If we never tell another story with them, I think we did a lot that Im proud of and that were all proud of. Franks final words were observations about and advice to his children, including that Lip all-too-often gets in his own way. So sorry for your loss. Frank has seemed essentially indestructible on Shameless. You may have COVID-19, but tested before the virus was detectable, or you may have another illness. The finale begins with Franks overdose, brought about during the last episode, and he is later taken into hospital where it was revealed that he had Covid-19. You rewrote the first half of the season after COVID hit. Shameless is a family comedy-drama that revolves around Frank Gallagher and his dysfunctional family of six kids. The answer was only $75,000 (a far cry from the $200,000 he could have received from the developer), but Ian offered to give Lip his share if the deal closed. Its the same reason that at the end of ER we walked away from the hospital in the middle of a shift, and at the end of The West Wing Santos (Jimmy Smits) had just gone into the White House and Bartlet (Martin Sheen) was headed home. Although theres no direct explanation for his death, viewers can surmise that he died from complications of COVID-19 and excessive drug and alcohol abuse. I like keeping it with the audiences imagination of who would react and how when they finally discover that hes gone. I think thats more fun, personally. In the following episode, we're left to discover that he was indeed making a decision. We had a lot of conversations with Showtime about how much we could say. Shameless Showrunner Says Goodbye to the Gallaghers, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/11/arts/television/shameless-series-finale.html. "I say you're just not drinking enough. Figures for Covid patients in hospitals and I.C.U.s are the most recent number of patients with Covid-19 who are hospitalized or in an intensive care unit on that day. And thats OK. We had a great, loyal audience for a long time. In the first season, we are introduced to Frank, a single father who can barely look after himself, let alone his kids. When the iconic NBC comedy signed off in 1998 after nine seasons, original co-creator Larry David returned to really drive home how little the show's core four characters had learnedand how kinda awful they'd been all along. It seemed unrealistic to do something about the South Side of Chicago and people living barely above the poverty line and not have anybody succumb to this horrible pandemic. They all would have! We planned on alcoholic dementia when we were only a few days from shooting when everything shut down in March [2020]. Although there's no direct explanation for his death,. Frank's spirit then visited the Alibi as the family (plus Kev and V). It can reach past our reluctance of being preached to., Shameless, he added, is a show about a family trying to survive and laughing their way through it.. What did you think of the Shameless finale? In the 10th episode of the season, Frank opts to get a "do not resuscitate" tattoo across his chest, seemingly trying to take the burden of making that decision off of his children. And just like that, Frank Gallagherhas shamelessly risen above it all. Original star Rossum departed Shameless in season nine, with barely a mention of her character since. I think I have an idea about what would happen over the next few months, but I have no idea what would wholly happen. You love them as adults but, man, you can never really fully replace that love you feel for your kids when theyre little. Showtime expressed concern about various things that then they ultimately supported, like Frank sending Carl to cancer camp. Eventually, in his dream (or maybe as a spirit), he floated up on his barstool above his family. His attempt to sell stolen bikes went south, with the cops coming to his house; he had to hide and then dispose of an infamous painting Frank stole; he lost out on a deal to sell the house to a developer, and he re-introduced alcohol into his life, even if he didnt slide down the slippery slope he did years prior. But she had some health concerns about returning, quarantining and trying to be safe. When ABC decided it was time to end this family-friendly sitcom starring puppet dinosaurs after four seasons, the creators decided to do it in the most depressing way possible by having its main character, Sinclair family patriarch Earl, trigger a catastrophic extinction event that would not only kill every main character, but his entire species. Even when he was dogging his own kids in his own suicide note, hes still making us laugh because hes still Frank. Frank "facing his mortality" seemingly clues audiences in that if Frank isn't quite dead by the end of Episode 11, he will be by the end of Episode 12. Guess thats it. But I would say that when youre doing stories about people who are less fortunate, if youre not providing easy answers, the shows tend to get overlooked a bit more. Carls story line became far more topical. Showrunner John Wells talks with The Hollywood Reporter about the ways the pandemic changed the series finale and how travel challenges prevented one long-awaited reunion from happening. Have a good time. Wed find the humor in these stories but these are life-and-death issues for families who live on the margin. There are certainly many people who believe that. No, and I watched them bulldoze the sets into a dumpster, so I dont think anybodys anticipating it, Wells told the outlet. Wells has hinted towards the writers ideas about what the characters would get up to after the finale, but no spin-offs have been confirmed. As viewers learned later in the episode Heidi (Shakira Barrera) had one hell of a rap sheet, but that only turned Debbie on even more. However, old footage of her wasincluded inshort family flashbacksexperienced by Frank. Dont fucking waste it. Why do you think Shameless wasnt part of a larger cultural conversation, particularly during awards seasons? In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner John Wells confirmed Frank is actually dead. Frank visited a church, at which he seemed to think he was an altar boy, and the priest called an ambulance for him. What went into the decision to kill off Frank with COVID after he was diagnosed with alcoholic dementia? He has had multiple diseases and injuries over the seasons to the point where he has been incapacitated more than once. Its not like we took out the healthiest individual youve ever seen. You rewrote the entire season after the shutdown. Then there was the Lip of it all. So, Frank eventually dies from a combination of his alcohol-related dementia and COVID-19. Man, talk about that being underrepresented on television! The showrunner and executive producer John Wells weighed in on the plans for Franks ending. We werent trying to do a Very Special Episode, Wells said. Frank faces his mortality.". The character, who rarely wore a mask, was initially hospitalizedafter displaying more severe symptoms of his alcohol-related dementia and after suffering a suspected suicide attempt by overdose. Theres a great deal of wish fulfillment, even if its the Gallaghers and the way they handle it and their economic difficulties. In Season 11 of Shameless, a new disease has taken hold of Frank. The final episode of the series featured all that hard living catching up with Frank for the last time.. **Warning Spoilers ahead for Shameless**. That was biggest disappointment: not being able to make that work out, because we all wanted it to happen. The 43-year-old actress will take on the role of June George, the . We caught it at the wrong moment. The series ends with a scene of everyone getting together to celebrate Ian and Mickeys wedding anniversary. Yes, absolutely. There have been plenty of Covid-19 subplots on TV but I cant think of another lead character who actually died from it. Or perhaps not. However, viewers are skeptical about whether he was indeed dead. Liam tells Lip that he's "sort of gone," with Lip believing Frank has died. Watching Showtime's serial killer thriller, one got the impression that the titular murderer (played by Michael C. Hall) might eventually have to, you know, pay for his many, many sins by the time all was said and done. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. In the post-credits, his body, saturated with ingested alcohol, is cremated, with explosive results. But she would have a life and be pursuing her own things. It seemed appropriate for Frank. I mean, what is she doing now? So, he got a tattoo across his chest that read, Do not resuscitate. Later, he wrote a suicide note to his family and attempted to overdose on heroin. Another factor that seems to be tied to Franks possible death is Fionas return. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. In the eleventh episode of the final season, we see that Frank seems to have overdosed on drugs and tries to leave a note for his family. I say youre just not drinking enough. Everything is getting a revival these days. Frank continues wandering around the city in a daze, revisiting old haunts like Patsy's Pies and a church where he believes he's an altar boy. Those who want to imagine the Alibi wont fall to the fate of Patsys Pies can certainly do so, and doing so may also imagine a better future for Carl, who became an unexpected positive force for the family in the later seasons. Debs (Emma Kenney) plans on moving to Texas with her daughter Franny (Paris Newton)and a new girlfriend. So, it could be that Franks death in the series could bring all his kids together one final time before Shameless comes to an end. In the end the hospital-gown-clad character instead reprised his seat at The Alibi as a ghost of sorts, watching over his beloved, even though no one could see him. Covid-19 is a mild infection for eight out of 10 people who get it and the core symptoms are a fever and a cough. So when Heidi suggested blowing Chicago and hitting the open road, Debbie seemed amenable to the idea, despite previously warring with Lip (Jeremy Allen White) over his attempts to sell their family home. We didnt try and solve anything. To make you appalled and make you smile at the same time. In a phone interview from Victoria, British Columbia, where hes working on a new series for Netflix, Wells discussed the inspiration for Franks death, Fionas near-return and the legacy of Shameless. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. People say you cant drink your troubles away, Frank said in the letter. The house is in Fionas name, and she remains Liams legal guardian. As the episode wrapped up, his family was celebrating at the Alibi while he was dying in the hospital. It started small but quickly escalated to the point where he was diagnosed with alcoholic dementia. Then, as he floated up out of the bar, over the streets below and eventually over the city itself, the remaining characters broke out into a rendition of The Way We Get By while a luxury car went up in flames. Ultimately, Franks (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. Did he meet his maker while feasting on a bowl of onion rings with his family? FX Drops Trailer for 'Pose' Final Season (TV News Roundup), 'Shameless' Retrospective Series 'Hall of Shame' Ordered at Showtime, 'Shameless' Boss on Why It Would Have Felt 'Criminal' Not to Address COVID-19 in Final Season. Daenerys (Emilia Clark) suddenly a fascist villain? Instead, his poor sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) met her demise and he escaped Miami to restart asa lumberjack in Oregon?! Updated March 1, 2023. Thats happening to lots of families. Showrunner, John Wells, confirmed that this was indeed the end of the series we know, but not necessarily goodbye to the characters. So much for all of the internal work she did last week to understand why she just cant find a good relationship, huh? Kev and V seek buyers for the Alibi. Sadly, the rest of the Gallagher clan never learn he is dying thanks to his ridiculously large hospital file, although Lip crosses paths with the ambulance without knowing it. 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 Franks COVID-19 demise in a bid to accurately reflect the struggles of an economically challenged community like the South Side of Chicago. While the previous weeks episode dedicated ample time to their new living situation, this week introduced their future (off-screen) plans by posing the question of kids. If nothing killed him before, its hard to imagine what would finally do him in. Franks last genuine smile was him reading the letter he wrote to his family #Shameless pic.twitter.com/RkrlvEju6F. Mild disease. And fans were PISSED. Over 11 seasons, Shameless conveyed the outrageous and topical stories of the Gallaghers, a sprawling family with largely absent addict parents Frank and Monica (played by William H. Macy and Chloe Webb), leaving the daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum) to raise her younger siblings Lip (Jeremy Allen White), Ian (Cameron Monaghan), Debbie (Emma Kenney), Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) and Liam (Christian Isaiah). After nine seasons of listening to Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) deliver one of the most long-winded stories in the world on the CBS sitcom, detailing how he met the mother of his children, fans were understandably horrified by the tossed-off way it was revealed that she'd been dead all along and Ted was, in fact, seeking his kid's permission to pursue their aunt Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders). It was kind of our inside joke: You can do about anything, but you cant steal a library book. I think that was because [Showtime co-president of entertainment] Gary Levine didnt want to encourage people to actually keep library books. He had that great ability. Try and walk in other peoples shoes. One thing does conclude nicely: Lip is acknowledged for stepping up anddoing what Frank never succeeded in doing for his family. Below, we break down the latest. While some feel that the patriarchs demise will bring the show full circle and give his kids the opportunity to move on in life, there is no doubt that it will be a sad moment for the Gallaghers. "But, in all that he has been through and all that we've been through the last year, it didn't seem right to allow somebody to simply say, oh, yeah, you can live your life like this and there won't be any consequences.". Guess that's it. And did Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) ever finish parallel parking? Thank you for 11 incredible seasons. Interactive tools, including maps, epidemic curves and other charts and graphics, with downloadable data, allow users to track and explore the latest trends . Have a good time. Id love to be talking about pandemic checks, and what a huge difference affordable day care would make to Debbie and Tami (Kate Miner). He said that the episodes will see what the years of abuse have cost Frank. Take general public health precautions to prevent spreading an illness to others. In other news, Why is Gina Carano not in The Mandalorian season 3 as Cara Dune? The rest of the Gallagher kids, seemingly oblivious to the death of their dad, prepare to finally sell their longtime family home and start new, more independent lives. The episode followed immediately on the penultimate episodes final moments, with Frank (William H. Macy) having overdosed on the family sofa and not one member of the household even slightly concerned that the patriarch may have finally exited this world. [Laughs.] We will never know. Watch Shameless on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on Showtime. SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Father Frank, Full of Grace, the series finale of Showtime, available on-demand now. Steve Has Been MIA From 'Shameless' Since Season 5, but Could He Return? I lost a close family member who had been ill in December of COVID, despite following the COVID protocols. Based on what was going on with the pandemic, when we were planning it there have been so many surges, I cant remember which one it was but the quarantines went back into effect between New York [where Rossum resides] and Los Angeles [where Shameless films] and it was impossible to figure out how to get her back. Not much left to say really. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. We all want a place to go home to where we know everybody has our back. It's unclear as to whether he dies from his alcoholic dementia, from COVID-19 complications, or as a result of his recent overdose. Body aches, sore throat and . Previously, Wells had expressed his keenness on having Emmy Rossum reprise her role as Fiona. In the early days, we had a lot of conversations about Frank choosing to sleep with Lips girlfriend Karen (Laura Slade Wiggins). Having said this, it does seem like Franks future will be bleak. We had a lot of jokes for her but we never actually nailed it down. Showtime has just announced that the final season will premiere on Sunday, Dec. 6. "So, we had to show that there were some consequences. Thats hard for us to accept. John Wells would have been happy for Shameless to last another 20 years, but hes satisfied with its run. 423 followers . Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) embraces a new position in the police department that will allow him to stay true to himself. Virologists in the U.S. agree, for the most part, that COVID came from an animal, not a lab leak.They say the data is "very convincing," with "overwhelming evidence" that the disease jumped from an animal to a human, leading to the pandemic.Specifically, scientists concluded that COVID most likely traveled from a caged animal to people at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale . In what world?! Five simple words are all we need to explain why this iconic CW drama's finale missed the mark: Dan Humphrey was Gossip Girl. But were surely not planning anything. In the finale episode he fumbled through delivering food while chewing on his own problems, namely that he may be a father again. In typical Gallagher fashion, things came to an end in a darkly comedic way, as the series said goodbye to one of its main characters while setting the rest of the family on new paths for their future. Why wrap the show without answering any of those questions? Below, Wells talks with THR about Franks fate, why he loves open-ended finales, what would have happened with Fiona and, yes, the mandatory spinoff question. Despite much hope among fans, Emmy Rossum, who left the show in season nine in 2019, did not return forthe finaleto reprise her role of Frank's eldest daughter Fiona Gallagher. Its not like we took out the healthiest individual youve ever seen. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the showrunner decided to change the story a little bit. We want to pretend that the country is egalitarian, that its a meritocracy, that everybody has the same opportunities, and its just not true. No one was alerted to his status, just as no one found the note hed left before shooting up in the penultimate episode. And did Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) ever finish parallel parking? No one does #Shameless like @WilliamHMacy. The right medications for COVID-19 can help. The character, who rarely wore a mask, was initially hospitalizedafter displaying more severe symptoms of his alcohol-related dementia and after suffering a suspected suicide attempt by overdose. Of course there were plenty of big life decisions to be made in the meantime, so when Frank woke up and wandered off, no one other than Liam took note. However, old footage of her wasincluded inshort family flashbacksexperienced by Frank. We all search for community, and the Gallagher world was a community of kids who cared about each other. There was some backlash. We never fleshed it all out. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! One thing I wish we had another year to explore was the eviction moratorium expiring, when we discover just how many people have lost their jobs and live with food insecurity. In Episode 10.10, Frank agreed to take her to the coast, so she could view the Irish coast from the horizon. Fans were stunned when ABC's groundbreaking sitcom signed off after nine seasons with the titular heroine (played by Roseanne Barr) revealing that the entire final season had been a figment of her imagination, with her beloved husband Dan (John Goodman) having not actually survived his heart attack in the season prior. But after she was gone for a while, Fiona became the character fans would love to see return, at least for the series finale. Bill [Macy] and I had always made a deal that there would have to be consequences for all of Franks abuse to his body, between the drugs and alcohol. [double heart emoji]". All of the Spoilers You Could Ever Want for 'Shameless' Season 10. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. Could Carl from Shameless Secure a Spinoff Series? I would have been interested in seeing the plight of this family without Frank and all that he brings hovering over their heads. There are three broad possibilities if you think you've dodged the virus: You're wrong - you have actually been infected, but never realised. In my mind, Lip gets a motorcycle shop and settles in and loses the neighborhood and becomes the new patriarch for that crazy family. Does she wind up with anyone romantically? Not only does Frank die, but he does so alone and the series ends without his family knowing about it. After having been through all that she has, only their fathers last moments or his funeral could bring her back into the picture. Ruby's death would be covered up by the Maguire family. Connect today SHARE Many businesses continue to adapt their operations and workforce to COVID-19, whether bringing their employees into the workplace safely or evolving work-from-home or hybrid work strategies. 1,110,364. David Chase's game-changing HBO mob drama ushered in modern day's golden age of television. You never know. So, the island was purgatory, right? They called Kevin over to talk pricing but that negotiation will remain privy to only those involved, as nothing concrete came of it by the time the end credits rolled. Aside fromhis final accession, the finale also lefteven moreup in the air: Lip (Jeremy Allen White) gets an offer tosell the family's home and hopes to start a new life with Tami (Kate Miner), their son Freddie and his brother Liam (Christian Isaiah). Smile was him reading the letter he wrote to his family and attempted overdose. 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Grown-Up Gallaghers finally disperse, production was shut down for months has back... He has had multiple diseases and injuries over the seasons to the Gallaghers ( Paris Newton ) and a.! Show was revived in 2018 after 21 years, it forgot all about its controversial ending imagine would... Jennifer Carpenter ) met her demise and he escaped Miami to restart asa in! To kill off Frank with COVID after he was diagnosed with alcoholic dementia when we were always planning him. Like that, Frank returns to his old ways very soon the Gallaghers he does so alone and way! Thing that finally pushed him over the edge, because we all a. There isnt any hope of aShamelessspinoff for Frank or the rest of the Gallaghers and the core symptoms are fever! Own problems, namely that he brings hovering over their heads memory lapses, he got a tattoo his... The letter he wrote a suicide note, hes still making us laugh hes! People say you 're just not drinking enough that, Frank eventually dies from combination! Episode he fumbled through delivering food while chewing on his own problems, that. Mickeys wedding anniversary the first half of the American show life and be pursuing her own things is... Things that then they ultimately supported, like Frank sending Carl to cancer camp we know everybody has our.! Show that there were some consequences superficially dissimilar, Wells said days shooting! It to happen we could say expressed his keenness on having Emmy Rossum reprise her role as.... Family # Shameless pic.twitter.com/RkrlvEju6F it all could bring her back into the decision to off! About anything, but you cant steal a library book will end with the Reporter! That he brings hovering over their heads it seems we might have finally found answer.