Hey, ‘Shameless’: Use Emmy Rossum and Cameron Monaghan’s Exit as an Excuse and End the Series

On Monday, Shameless star Cameron Monaghan announced via Instagram that he will be leaving the Showtime comedy following next week’s episode. The news of Monaghan’s departure shocked fans, many of whom are still reeling after Emmy Rossum shared that she’s exiting Shameless at some point during Season 9, as well. What will become of the show now that two of its central characters are leaving?

I’ll tell you what should become of Shameless: it should end once and for all. I’ve been a steadfast Shameless fan for nine years, and I’ve enjoyed watching the Gallagher children transform into (semi) functional adults. But nine seasons later, my excitement for the series has run its course. Quite simply, Shameless has abandoned its characters in favor of “buzzy,” politically-charged plot lines. The departure of Fiona and Ian Gallagher creates an additional obstacle for the series to overcome, but it also gives Showtime an easy out. If the show continues, you risk shredding its heart for good. But if you end Shameless now, you retain some of the quiet dignity it once possessed.

Shameless‘ 100th episode, “Do Right, Vote White!,” is a perfect example of how the show has radically shifted in tone. The episode centers on an election that divides the South Side along predictable lines: Frank (William H. Macy) supports a white male candidate looking to “take back” the city (ugh), while Fiona supports a business-minded male candidate over a progressive female. Frank enlists throwback character Terry Milkovich (Dennis Cockrum) and his neo-Nazi friends to scare people away from the polls, and unsurprisingly, the tactic works — Frank’s scheme manages to win convicted pedophile Mo White a seat in Congress and alienates Fiona. Win-win, I guess.

The problem with this episode isn’t that Shameless‘ writers are giving fans a wink-wink, nudge-nudge that they know what’s going on in America in 2018. The problem is that the characters’ motivations are entirely off-base, and the show just expects us to go with it. Why would Fiona suddenly act out of self-interest when she’s spent her entire life stepping in to help her siblings? Fiona may have moved up a social class, but her family is still living in relative poverty, and it seems pretty out of character for her to just forget that. On the flip side, it makes sense that Frank would support a white male candidate, but the lengths to which he goes to get Mo White elected are ridiculous. Shameless justifies Frank’s behavior by showing that he’s doing this to steal campaign donations, but, as we’ve seen for nine years, Frank is supremely lazy. In my mind, there’s absolutely zero chance that Frank would canvas houses, talk to voters, and organize rallies for an entire month, no matter how much money he stands to gain. Frank has always preferred the short con, and the Mo White story line is anything but.

And that’s just Frank and Fiona — all season long, Shameless has been doing a disservice to its other characters, too. Whether the show is dealing with Debbie’s sporadically-appearing daughter, Lip’s seeming disregard for the $10,000 he lost trying to pay off Xan’s mom (not to mention his sudden urge to be a dad), or Ian’s “Gay Jesus” crusade, the series has made it clear that it just doesn’t get these characters anymore. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s changing any time soon.

There was a time, not too long ago, that Shameless executed these stories with empathy, understanding, and a good dose of humor, and there’s still time to get back to that. In the coming episodes, Fiona will likely face a flood of conflicting emotions as she leaves her family for the first time, and Ian will have to deal with the repercussions of his actions, potentially in prison, so there’s plenty of meaty material to push the show towards a conclusion. Hopefully, Shameless will take advantage of this opportunity to re-focus on the Gallagher family, especially considering that recent seasons have centered more on the individual characters than the family as a whole.
I beg of you, Shameless, quit while you’re ahead. Weave Rossum and Monaghan’s departure into a sensitive, nuanced final few episodes, show us that you still care about the Gallagher family’s story, and call it a day.

Where to stream Shameless