Shameless showrunner John Wells explains why alum Emmy Rossum could not join the ensemble cast for a final goodbye in the recent series finale. Premiering in 2011 on Showtime, the show received critical acclaim for its dark humor and ruthless deconstruction of a dysfunctional family struggling to make ends meet in the South Side of Chicago. The chaotic Gallagher clan endeared fans with their gumption and wildly inappropriate comedy. Enduring for ten years, Shameless has become the longest-running series on Showtime.
For the majority of Shameless, Emmy Rossum played the beloved character Fiona Gallagher, the begrudging matriarch of her family. With an absent mother and a father dealing with addiction, Fiona finds herself in the role of caregiver to her younger brothers and sister. During this time, she tries to provide both the necessary financial and emotional support to her family. Still, she often strains under a social system that fails to offer any form of aid. Rossum’s thoughtful portrayal of her character consistently garnered praise from both viewers and critics, who fully appreciated her ability to lean into the role. However, Rossum eventually left the show after nine seasons to pursue other acting endeavors. Despite her exit, the series continued for two more installments before ending this week.
While speaking to THR, showrunner John Wells explained why Rossum was absent from the series finale. Citing logistical issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wells revealed how and why the final storyline ultimately had to change:
“It was pretty much the same with the exception: We were trying to get Emmy — and Emmy wanted to come back. We caught it at the wrong moment. We wanted her to return and had some storylines about her coming back and she wanted to do it. Based on what was going on with the pandemic, when we were planning it — there have been so many surges, I can’t 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. That was biggest disappointment: not being able to make that work out because we all wanted it to happen. A very minor but sad result of everything that’s happened in the pandemic.”
Although Rossum was unable to return, the rest of the cast issued a farewell to their beleaguered, complicated characters. As has been par for the course with the Gallaghers in the finale, a happy ending remained more or less elusive. At the same time, hope was a recurring theme for Fiona’s brothers and young sister, with most of them looking outward to the future with a familiar resilience.
Unfortunately, Rossum could not come back for a final homecoming. Still, it remains comforting to know that her character originally left to live a newly independent, well-rounded life. Throughout Shameless, Fiona often had to confront her demons, forcing her to regrow and assess her development over and over again. Hopefully, her character has found some form of peace out there in the world. As fans would agree, she certainly deserves it.
Source: THR
Originally from https://screenrant.com/shameless-finale-emmy-rossum-absent-john-wells-why/