'Shameless' Season 10 Release Date, Spoilers: Latest Cast Update Confirms Lip and Tami's Relationship Is Important to the Plot

“Shameless” season 10 is not expected to premiere in a few more months, so the plot is still unsurprisingly under wraps. However, Kate Miner’s promotion to being a series regular could be saying something about the future of Lip (Jeremy Allen White) and Tami’s (Miner) relationship.

The Hollywood Reporter the news about Miner’s promotion on Wednesday. Considering the development of Tami and Lip’s relationship, this “Shameless” season 10 news was not much of a surprise.

The way Lip and Tami’s relationship developed in season 9 was enough sign that there is more to their story that can be explored in “Shameless” season 10. They went from exchanging sexual banters to possibly starting their own family by the end of season 9. There is one major complication, though, Tami carries the gene that makes her susceptible to breast cancer, the disease that killed her mother.

Meanwhile, “Shameless” season 10 somehow serves as a fresh start for the series with Fiona (Emmy Rossum) officially out of the picture. This also offers more storylines for the Gallagher siblings and how their dynamic will change now that their ever-reliable big sister has moved on. It is going to be interesting how Lip would juggle the daunting decision-making tasks he has to face with Tami while adjusting to a life without Fiona.

Showrunner John Wells confirmed that Fiona’s departure will not only have a direct effect on Debbie (Emma Kenney). “Fiona, for all intents and purposes, even though she was the older sister, was the mother to all of them, and it looks easier from the outside than when you’re actually doing it, so I think we’ll have a lot of fun with that. I think that’s going to give us a lot of wonderful story. For Lip, as well,” Wells told Deadline. Showtime has yet to announce the release date of “Shameless” season 10. If there would be no major changes, the show could return later this year.