“Shameless” season 9 is currently on hiatus after finishing its first seven-episode run. Fans are still dealing with the fact that there will be one less Gallagher when the show returns next year. Some might already be wondering if more characters are leaving soon.
The short answer to that is yes. Avid fans of the chaotic Southern family is looking at another major exit in the remaining episodes of “Shameless” season 9. Hopefully, the departures end there.
In “Shameless” season 9 episode 6, the viewers saw Ian Gallagher leaving the show. His never-ending trouble with the law ended with him serving time in jail, which means actor Cameron Monaghan is bidding the show farewell.
Monaghan addressed his exit from “Shameless” season 9 by telling fans on social media, “[Episode 6] will be my last. I have known since last year, but I didn’t want to give it away too early as I wanted this season to be a surprise for the audience, allowing them to experience Ian’s unsure journey with his character. … Goodbye, Ian Clayton Gallagher. We’ll meet again?”
Emmy Rossum, on the other hand, confirmed that “Shameless” season 9 is going to be her final hoorah as Fiona Gallagher as early as last August. The actress, who has been a series regular from the beginning, also wrote fans a lengthy and emotional letter online announcing her decision.
Meanwhile, Fiona is still going through the hardest times of her adult life with only seven episodes left. Showrunner John Wells hinted that it might not get any better for Fiona in the remaining “Shameless” season 9 episodes.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wells explained that Fiona’s current struggle is part of a larger picture they hope to convey in “Shameless” season 9. “The idea was always that it’s very difficult to break out of your social economic class in this country, even if we love to say that anybody can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps, it’s much harder than that,” said Wells.
“Fiona was beginning to fly a little too close to the sun and so we wanted to show how people get knocked back down. We’re very excited in the second half of the season to explore that before Fiona actually leaves the show,” Wells added about Fiona’s fate in the remaining episodes of “Shameless” season 9. The second part of the installment begins on Sunday, Jan. 20.
