On the finale,the Gallagher family patriarch (William H. Macy) died of COVID-19. Carl finds his calling on the force. Despite much hope among fans, Emmy Rossum, who left the show in. 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. ER is about how medicine works. As many expected, Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) died in the final episode, and he ascended to the sky to deliver a monologue over . 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. As he passes away, he imagines himself rising upabove the rooftops while sitting in a chair in his hospital gownas he narrates a letter, filled with words of "advice," that he left for his family. John Wells discussed the impact of the pandemic and police protests on Sundays series finale. The priest called an ambulance, and later Frank woke up in the hospital during the Shameless series finale. So I thought, We should make a comment on that. We tried to make a comment all season on the particular difficulties that the pandemic has presented in low-income communities, and still make it kind of funny. **Warning Spoilers ahead for Shameless**. 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. Thats about how the system doesnt really work for families living near the poverty line, Wells said. And more than a year later, many of them are still asking that very question. Showtime has just announced that the final season will premiere on Sunday, Dec. 6. What do you hope viewers take away from those scenes? 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Is the purpose of the police to protect the well-off from the not-well-off? And more than a year later, many of them are still asking that very question. They also never find the note he left before overdosing. What the hell why not go out in a blaze of glory? 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. Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) the king? While the problematic patriarch's death would be a sad way to conclude the show, fans are hoping that it may mean a reunion for the rest of the Gallaghers. Though the shows are superficially dissimilar, Wells sees all of them as examinations of function or dysfunction. 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. 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). We arrived at alcoholic dementia and had written more than half the season when we shut down. "Bill Macy and I talked about it a lot of times over the years, which was it would be wrong to let Frank completely off the hook for living the life that he's lived and doing the damage to his body, that he had done to his body over all these years," Wells explained. Copyright 2023 Distractify. Frank left Patty on the beach at low tide to help her get a better view, and told her he would return in an hour. Not much left to say really. Seeing Kevin and Vee in Louisville was a great window into a whole other world, too. In the post-credits, his body, saturated with ingested alcohol, is cremated, with explosive results. Take general public health precautions to prevent spreading an illness to others. I want to think what I want to think about the characters, where they end up and what happens with them and have the audience have those conversations with others over drinks. 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. Despite what would usually be a turning point for most people, Frank returns to his old ways very soon. No, Fiona does not appear in the final season of Shameless. There's certainly some schadenfreude in this, Frank always thinking he can skate by. To make you appalled and make you smile at the same time. No, Shameless season 11 was considered the final season of the American show. So, the island was purgatory, right? He writes things on his fathers arms to help him remember that he has dementia and who to call if he gets lost. Even in comedies that are satirical, there should be real consequences.. Kids would come to our Chicago set, and tell us about how they were thrown out of their homes for being gay, lesbian or trans. Dont fucking waste it. On the finale,the Gallagher family patriarch (William H. Macy) died of COVID-19. On Sunday night, Showtime's long-running and acclaimed remake of Shameless finally came to an end, closing the book on the popular Gallagher family. We could have used two more seasons to explore that. He even gets a tattoo across his chest in the seasons tenth episode, which reads Do Not Resuscitate. However, the upcoming season may see him open his eyes once again, but does that mean he will survive? Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. We were always planning for him to pass away from something at the end. Was he proud of his parenting in those moments? Its not like we took out the healthiest individual youve ever seen. Let us know in the comments! The Iron Throne melted down?! Speaking of The Alibi, the bar took up a surprising amount of finale time with its own storyline in Sundays episode, as Veronica (Shanola Hampton) and Kevin (Steve Howey) fielded an offer to sell and the locals wondered if it would be the last great establishment to fall victim to the gentrification going on around them. Kev (Steve Howey) and V (Shanola Hampton) plan a move to Kentucky. I love Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton), and would love to see what happens to them. See TV's most controversial series finales: The series ended its 11-season run on April 11, 2021. Bill [Macy] and I had always made deal that there would have to be consequences for all of Franks abuse to his body, between the drugs and alcohol. Before he created Shameless, the long-running family drama that ended Sunday night on Showtime, John Wells was the showrunner of ER and later seasons of The West Wing, both on NBC. 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. You and many other people! And NO. 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. [double heart emoji]". 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. As of February 8, 2023, a total of 1,110,364 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in the United States. And he certainly had a number of preexisting conditions . Does she wind up with anyone romantically? "So, we had to show that there were some consequences. Instead, his poor sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) met her demise and he escaped Miami to restart asa lumberjack in Oregon?! I want to see the Alibi cop-bar story, and what happens with Carl and Arthur (Joshua Malina) as police officers. Id love to be talking about pandemic checks, and what a huge difference affordable day care would make to Debbie and Tami (Kate Miner). Not only does Frank die, but he does so alone and the series ends without his family knowing about it. 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. "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.". Shameless is obviously outrageously exaggerated, but we tried to ground it in a real world in which you felt like if you turned the right corner of Chicago, you could run across some Gallaghers and their whole world. "You know, she very much wanted to, and we wanted her to. Five simple words are all we need to explain why this iconic CW drama's finale missed the mark: Dan Humphrey was Gossip Girl. A very minor but sad result of everything thats happened in the pandemic. And did Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) ever finish parallel parking? Theres certainly some schadenfreude in this, Frank always thinking he can skate by everything and coming to a moment he couldnt skate by. After suffering from memory lapses, he was diagnosed with early-stage alcoholic dementia. We planned on alcoholic dementia when we were only a few days from shooting when everything shut down in March [2020]. In that regard, you might expect him to be able to stick it out and live to see the end of the series. And then went out with a bang. After having been through all that she has, only their fathers last moments or his funeral could bring her back into the picture. 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. 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. However, he kept forgetting that he had dementia. However, the penultimate episode of season 11 has caught the fans off-guard as it implies the patriarch's death. This interview includes spoilers for Sundays series finale of Shameless.. You love them as adults but, man, you can never really fully replace that love you feel for your kids when theyre little. Eventually, in his dream (or maybe as a spirit), he floated up on his barstool above his family. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Be a little more understanding with the person who delivers your package. My family can relate to that experience of not being able to say goodbye and not being there when it happened. 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. Ruby's death would be covered up by the Maguire family. Daenerys (Emilia Clark) suddenly a fascist villain? Unfortunately, with COVID protocols in place, there just wasn't a good way to make it work. Total Deaths Reported. So, the island was purgatory, right? Liam also tries to make him happy by doing Frank things with him, like scamming strangers for money. 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. We planned on alcoholic dementia when we were only a few days from shooting when everything shut down in March [2020], Wells began. Then I lost a close family member from Covid at Christmastime. Emmy Rossum) through flashbacks from the shows earliest episodes. There have been plenty of Covid-19 subplots on TV but I cant think of another lead character who actually died from it. Ive been pretty fortunate to do a number of longer-running series and, as a fan, I always appreciate things not being wrapped up. Many wonderful novels end and youre still thinking about the characters and what they do. Frank has so many possible comorbidities Covid is just the thing that finally pushed him over the edge. Try and walk in other peoples shoes. In what world?! There is nothing planned. I havent really given it any thought.. Despite much hope among fans, Emmy Rossum, who left the show in. On the finale, the Gallagher family patriarch ( William H. Macy) died of COVID-19. 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. No one does #Shameless like @WilliamHMacy. We didnt want Frank to get off scot-free for all his lifestyle choices. I think I have an idea about what would happen over the next few months, but I have no idea what would wholly happen. 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. 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 then went out with a bang. Showrunner, John Wells, confirmed that this was indeed the end of the series we know, but not necessarily goodbye to the characters. You could argue that Frank was already meant to die when he had liver disease or countless other physical ailments. Body aches, sore throat and . All rights reserved. And then went out with a bang. On Sunday, April 11, the hit Showtime dramedy series Shamelesscame to an end after 11 seasons. 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. Frank can still make you smile even as hes dying. 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. 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. You've never come into contact with it. His eyes drift closed after writing a letter to the Gallagher family. Debs (Emma Kenney) plans on moving to Texas with her daughter Franny (Paris Newton)and a new girlfriend. We tried to find some way to make it Frank-like and fun and let him hold onto who he always was in the last moments," he continuted. But no, we never worked it out. 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. Have a good time. Its not like we took out the healthiest individual youve ever seen. Theres a great deal of wish fulfillment, even if its the Gallaghers and the way they handle it and their economic difficulties. 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. Anyone can read what you share. Saved by the bell: Contestant ordered to keep mask on, in historic 'Masked Singer first, Chris Pine admits 'it does look' like Harry Styles spit on him but this is what actually happened, Rebel Wilson 'collapsed' after Ramona Agruma proposal: 'I was so overwhelmed', Amy Grant recalls being 'so scared' to return to touring following serious bike accident, Travis Scott being sought by NYPD after alleged nightclub assault. Except times precious. Previously, Wells had expressed his keenness on having Emmy Rossum reprise her role as Fiona. Showrunner John Wells spoke to Deadline about the finale, explaining why Frank had to go, and why Fiona didn't return. 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. I would have been interested in seeing the plight of this family without Frank and all that he brings hovering over their heads. Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton). Will the couple ever go down that baby road? All rights reserved. All of the Spoilers You Could Ever Want for 'Shameless' Season 10. Shameless is a family comedy-drama that revolves around Frank Gallagher and his dysfunctional family of six kids. Franks final words were observations about and advice to his children, including that Lip all-too-often gets in his own way. And Shameless? And that makes me feel good as a viewer and a reader. 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. Even when he was dogging his own kids in his own suicide note, hes still making us laugh because hes still Frank. Guess that's it. I sure as hell did.. 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