With all the comorbidity that Frank had, Bill and I both talked about it and said, It would be unrealistic to not have anybody in this community actually suffer severe consequences of the pandemic. And Frank seemed like the logical choice. Copyright 2023 ComicBook.com. Did Showtime ever veto any other ideas or voice other concerns? Dont fucking waste it. Not much left to say really. Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. With all the comorbidity that Frank had, Bill and I both talked about it, he continued. Kev (Steve Howey) and V (Shanola Hampton) plan a move to Kentucky. Frank Gallagher has lived through more than 10 seasons of Shameless as a drug-addicted miscreant who had no desire to ever turn his life around. Emmy Rossum) through flashbacks from the shows earliest episodes. I say youre just not drinking enough. That's what we do, at least. Showrunner, John Wells, confirmed that this was indeed the end of the series we know, but not necessarily goodbye to the characters. I havent really given it any thought.. The right medications for COVID-19 can help. In the first season, we are introduced to Frank, a single father who can barely look after himself, let alone his kids. Take general public health precautions to prevent spreading an illness to others. Eventually, in his dream (or maybe as a spirit), he floated up on his barstool above his family. I love Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), and would love to see what happens to them. As the light fades for us, I think and hope we will remember the things that bring us joy, and a lot of that would be parents remembering their children. Knowing you didnt want to end Shameless, do you have any desire to do a spinoff? And then Fiona opened the box! It's hard to believe that the Gallagher family has been a part of our lives for the past 10 years we've literally watched the actors and their respective characters grow up right before our eyes every Sunday night. And then went out with a bang. There was going to be a family discussion about who was going to take care of Frank. Not only does Frank die, but he does so alone and the series ends without his family knowing about it. When Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse decided to end the mind-bending ABC mystery by getting metaphysical rather than giving some, you know, concrete answers about what had been going on for the last six seasons, not everyone was exactly thrilled. After waking from his overdose, the Gallagher patriarch eventually ended up in the hospital, where he died of COVID. Yes, Frank Gallagher dies during the Shameless finale, season 11 episode 12, titled 'Father Frank, Full of Grace.' The finale begins with Frank's overdose, brought about during the last. His body was in the ER, and he was dreaming that he was sitting at the Alibi drinking a massive beer. We all want a place to go home to where we know everybody has our back. 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. Even for Frank there can be a grace and joy in the passing, at least thats what I hope that we can go out a little more gracefully. "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.". Comedy can be brutal, Wells said. Did he meet his maker while feasting on a bowl of onion rings with his family? #Shameless. For many people, they represent different ideas of who gay men can be and how those relationships can be. There are certainly many people who believe that. In his delirium, Frank mistakes a health care worker for Fiona, which is the first time that she has been mentioned since Emmy Rossum left the show two years ago. Frank can still make you smile even as hes dying. On the finale, the Gallagher family patriarch ( William H. Macy) died of COVID-19. James Gunn Reveals New Superman, Batman Movies and More, Shameless Finale: Showrunner Adresses One Character's Death and Why SPOILER Didn't Return, Everything Coming to Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max & Other Major Streaming Services in March 2023, Star Wars Alum Daisy Ridley Cast in New Prime Video Series. Would any of Fionas storylines have filled in what the character is doing now? Unfortunately, with COVID protocols in place, there just wasn't a good way to make it work. Id love to be talking about pandemic checks, and what a huge difference affordable day care would make to Debbie and Tami (Kate Miner). It seemed appropriate for Frank. There are three broad possibilities if you think you've dodged the virus: You're wrong - you have actually been infected, but never realised. You really dont get to connect. I sure as hell did." After his death, The Gallaghers read a touching letter from Frank before they attend his funeral. People have been seriously harmed and even died after taking products not approved for use to treat or prevent COVID-19, even products approved or prescribed for other uses. Why wrap the show without answering any of those questions? "People say you can't drink your troubles away," Frank muses as he floats off into the unknown. For Debbie (Emma Kenney) that meant falling for the woman who, just last week, threatened to shoot her daughter. Forever in search of normalcy, Ian was all for the idea, while Mickey seemed gutted by the notion of being a crappy father. COVID-19 has done what a failing liver, alcoholism, drug abuse, dementia, being tossed in the Chicago River in the winter, and a suicide attempt could not do: kill Frank Gallagher. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Millions of people have been going through this experience this past year. No, and I watched them bulldoze the sets into a dumpster, so I dont think anybodys anticipating it, Wells told the outlet. Best laid plans. But it seems we might have finally found an answer to that question. 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. I think thats more fun, personally. And did Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) ever finish parallel parking? He has had multiple diseases and injuries over the seasons to the point where he has been incapacitated more than once. Estimates for the case fatality rate for COVID-19 vary depending on the country. However, she did tweet last week, "I'm so proud of this cast and am immensely honored to have been a part of a show as unique and impactful as Shameless. Then three days before shooting began on a season in which the mostly grown-up Gallaghers finally disperse, production was shut down for months. Thats what I felt. And dont think we forgot about Frank! 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. The 43-year-old actress will take on the role of June George, the . It also delivered one of the most controversial finales ever with a simple smash cut to black just as somethingmaybe nefarious, maybe notwas about to happen to the show's iconic antihero, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). And he certainly had a number of preexisting conditions . 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. In . This interview includes spoilers for Sundays series finale of Shameless.. We arrived at alcoholic dementia and had written more than half the season when we shut down. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Offers may be subject to change without notice. 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. 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). Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) the king? 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. However, the penultimate episode of season 11 has caught the fans off-guard as it implies the patriarchs death. Having all these stories out there reminds people that the things that they might be ashamed of and feel need to be hidden, nah weve got to talk about it. I lost a close family member who had been ill in December of COVID, despite following the COVID protocols. 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. Shameless Showrunner Says Goodbye to the Gallaghers, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/11/arts/television/shameless-series-finale.html. Frank Gallagher Dies From COVID-19 Of all the many, many ways one might expect to see the Frank Gallagher death scene, few could have predicted at the start of the series that he'd fall. It was pretty much the same with the exception: We were trying to get Emmy and Emmy wanted to come back. 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. Based on a British TV series, the Showtime version transferred the scruffy family to the South Side of Chicago and, among other things, thoroughly modernized the British concept of kitchen-sink drama. The Gallagher kitchen hosted such events as Monica slicing her wrists, Fiona having impromptu sex, Debbie giving birth, Frank removing Debbies necrotic toes and then-toddler Liam collapsing from a cocaine overdose. Why havent the Gallaghers talked about their sister? Try and walk in other peoples shoes. All Rights Reserved. But as he comes to terms with his alcoholic dementia diagnosis, the second to last episode shows Frank with drugs and what appears to be a note to his family. Frank began to understand what was going on with his body. 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. Not that these issues werent always there, but they became front and center after a number of horrific incidents of police brutality. Fans Can Visit the 'Shameless' House in Chicago But, the Gallagher Family Won't be There! We planned on alcoholic dementia when we were only a few days from shooting when everything shut down in March [2020], Wells began. 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. There have been plenty of Covid-19 subplots on TV but I cant think of another lead character who actually died from it. Daenerys (Emilia Clark) suddenly a fascist villain? Updated March 1, 2023. 1,110,364. Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and celebrity gossip. In its final season, Shameless sought to reflect the losses many families have experienced during the pandemic. In the hospital, Frank's fever spikes as he tests positive for COVID-19. In an interview with TVLine, Wells added that there isnt any hope of aShamelessspinoff for Frank or the rest of the Gallaghers. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher) accept theirnew yuppie lifestyle. Frank has lived through severe health crises and even survived medical interventions gone wrong. David Chase's game-changing HBO mob drama ushered in modern day's golden age of television. Is the purpose of the police to protect the well-off from the not-well-off? 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. Watch Shameless on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on Showtime. Its not like we took out the healthiest individual youve ever seen. Liam tells Lip that he's "sort of gone," with Lip believing Frank has died. https://t.co/9mbYSHdr57. It was always about the balance of whats been done and what we leave unpunished and unforgiven in the family, because the show is really just about how a family can pull itself through all different kinds of crisis. As many expected, Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) died in the final episode, and he ascended to the sky to deliver a monologue over . However, she did tweet last week, "I'm so proud of this cast and am immensely honored to have been a part of a show as unique and impactful as Shameless. 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. Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 11 of Shameless. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In other news, Why is Gina Carano not in The Mandalorian season 3 as Cara Dune? Yes, Frank Gallagher dies during the Shameless finale, season 11 episode 12, titled Father Frank, Full of Grace.. "You know, she very much wanted to, and we wanted her to. I was also interested in Arthur (guest star Josh Malina) and Carl running the Alibi, it could have been funny as a cop bar story. {{#media.media_details}} {{#media.focal_point}}. We had a lot of conversations with Showtime about how much we could say. In my mind, Lip gets a motorcycle shop and settles in and loses the neighborhood and becomes the new patriarch for that crazy family. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. **Warning Spoilers ahead for Shameless**. It's been a heavy season, so hopefully, any flashbacks will be to happier times. He had that great ability. 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. In the final moments of the episode, we see Frank at the Alibi and hear what he wrote in a note to. Its hard to question anybodys choices based on travel and safety. We had some humorous versions of it, where they all got sick of Frank, put him in a box and sent him down to Florida. John Wells discussed the impact of the pandemic and police protests on Sundays series finale. The audience, though, was treated to his words, as Macy read them in voiceover. Shameless is a family comedy-drama that revolves around Frank Gallagher and his dysfunctional family of six kids. Another hint that Frank is dead comes from the title and synopsis of the last episode, "Father Frank, Full of Grace." [Laughs.] Beyond everything else in the show that people love, what I was always most attracted to was no matter how difficult things were, this was a group of people who loved each other and came together even when they were angry with each other. 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. 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. Original star Rossum departed Shameless in season nine, with barely a mention of her character since. And Shameless? Thank you for 11 incredible seasons. What the hell why not go out in a blaze of glory? We planned on alcoholic dementia when we were only a few days from shooting when everything shut down in March [2020]. 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. 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 was drawn to a sense of life going on for the characters. Theyre just hilarious. But never say never. That was very intentional to show them all together at the end. In the final moments of the finale, Franks body explodes during his cremation because of the amount of alcohol in his body. A parade of returning guest stars testified about all the horrible things that had befallen them as a result of Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander), and Kramer's (Michael Richards) extreme selfishness and, in the end, a judge threw them in jail for a full year as a result of it. Have something to tell us about this article? Im sure Emmy would have come back and done it, and it would have been nice to see her again. I like keeping it with the audiences imagination of who would react and how when they finally discover that hes gone. John Wells would have been happy for Shameless to last another 20 years, but hes satisfied with its run. Despite much hope among fans, Emmy Rossum, who left the show in season nine in 2019, did not return forthe finale to reprise her role of Fiona Gallagher. It was a callback to the character's desire in the early seasons to become a writer by having Roseanne sitting at a typewriter, writing a different ending to her story, but it left viewers feeling like their time had been wasted in the worst way. And Ian (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher) have a kid. Frank is losing control of his bodily functions and can no longer drink alcohol. All rights reserved. ER is about how medicine works. As of February 8, 2023, a total of 1,110,364 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the United States. However, after Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) spent the episode doling out parking tickets to rich folks who were abusing disabled persons parking spots, he and his new police bud Arthur (Joshua Malina) mused about what a great cop bar the place could be. 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. Frank has so many possible comorbidities Covid is just the thing that finally pushed him over the edge. I think they were very concerned that Emmys absence would significantly hurt the viewership of the show. This was a series finale and Frank had come close to meeting his maker many times before, after all, and there were other stories to follow. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. We had written in various mentions of Fiona over the last two years, but Showtime asked us not to remind people of her absence. And more than a year later, many of them are still asking that very question. I lost a close family member who had been ill in December of COVID, despite. Could Carl from Shameless Secure a Spinoff Series? We arrived at alcoholic dementia and had written more than half the season when we shut down., Showrunner John Wells spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the ways the pandemic changed the series finale and how travel challenges prevented one long-awaited reunion from happening https://t.co/SFV6EpPZoC. Its a crazy world out there with people reviving shows and characters. After 11 seasons and 134 episodes, Showtimes Shameless wrapped its run Sunday with a series finale that was directly impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic in two key ways. Frank is far from the supportive, nurturing parent his children hoped he would be; Frank is Frank. Since the initial diagnosis, his health has only declined. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Yeah. (Laughing.) Thats an oversimplification, but we all need to understand what those fears of the police are, the lack of trust that exists in a lot of communities. To make you appalled and make you smile at the same time. No, Fiona does not appear in the final season of Shameless. 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). "She lives in New York, and you know, we were trying to make it work, but there were quarantine setups that were in there if she came out to LA. And NO. There's certainly some schadenfreude in this, Frank always thinking he can skate by. Originally, we were thinking he would take his own life in an overdose. Ruby's death would be covered up by the Maguire family. You rewrote the entire season after the shutdown. And that makes me feel good as a viewer and a reader. Or perhaps not. The travel was such a mess that we never got to the point of my actually writing it. But right now, with the end in sight, his future could go either way. 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.
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