To have Frank die of something else in the midst of this pandemic, it would be a little too easy. Not only does Frank die, but he does so alone and the series ends without his family knowing about it. 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. And did Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) ever finish parallel parking? Never has a series finale more nakedly telegraphed the idea "We like this character and may want to do more with him some day" before. Yeah. "She lives in New York, and you know, we were trying to make it work, but there were quarantine setups that were in there if she came out to LA. It just hit at just the wrong time with the continuing shutdown," said Wells. Five simple words are all we need to explain why this iconic CW drama's finale missed the mark: Dan Humphrey was Gossip Girl. When the iconic NBC comedy signed off in 1998 after nine seasons, original co-creator Larry David returned to really drive home how little the show's core four characters had learnedand how kinda awful they'd been all along. Be a little more understanding with the person who delivers your package. As news headlines about the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease continue to increase, so has concern over its potential to affect employee welfare, disrupt global supply chains and slow business operations. 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. Though the shows are superficially dissimilar, Wells sees all of them as examinations of function or dysfunction. Many people wanted to write off Shameless as a sex comedy. Bleak. Frank is losing control of his bodily functions and can no longer drink alcohol. They agreed, It would be unrealistic to not have anybody in this community actually suffer severe consequences of the pandemic. And Frank seemed like the logical choice. Dips and spikes could be due . There is nothing planned. Instead, his poor sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) met her demise and he escaped Miami to restart asa lumberjack in Oregon?! In my mind, Lip gets a motorcycle shop and settles in and loses the neighborhood and becomes the new patriarch for that crazy family. I was also interested in Arthur (guest star Josh Malina) and Carl running the Alibi, it could have been funny as a cop bar story. Theres a great deal of wish fulfillment, even if its the Gallaghers and the way they handle it and their economic difficulties. How much did the Black Lives Matter protests and the ongoing national conversation about racial inequality influence what you had originally planned? 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. In the sixth episode of this season, Frank is diagnosed with early stages of Alcoholic Dementia. Then, as he floated up out of the bar, over the streets below and eventually over the city itself, the remaining characters broke out into a rendition of The Way We Get By while a luxury car went up in flames. We had written in various mentions of Fiona over the last two years, but Showtime asked us not to remind people of her absence. True to the series and its dark humor, a midcredits scene sees the crematorium oven exploding due to Frank's alcohol-ridden body. As many expected, Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) died in the final episode, and he ascended to the sky to deliver a monologue over . To make you appalled and make you smile at the same time. Guess that's it. Seeing Kevin and Vee in Louisville was a great window into a whole other world, too. I will miss you this Sunday! We joked in the room that she ended up getting a job at Disney World, probably in Epcot Center, because she would never get a job on the better side. Possible symptoms include: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache With Season 11 as the final season overall, does Frank still make it out alive? That Shameless would end without providing resolution for what happens to the Gallagher children comes as little surprise, as Wells has said for years that he was drawn to a sense of life going on for the characters. In the eleventh episode of the final season, we see that Frank seems to have overdosed on drugs and tries to leave a note for his family. As Frank is dying, he daydreams about being back at the Alibi with his family and he begins to levitate. All Rights Reserved. I never want to complain about it, because Ive been on the good side of that equation. What went into the decision to kill off Frank with COVID after he was diagnosed with alcoholic dementia? You could argue that Frank was already meant to die when he had liver disease or countless other physical ailments. Shameless: Breaking Down Frank Gallagher's Fate During the Series Finale. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The cast of the Mean Girls musical movie keeps getting bigger, with Busy Philipps signing on for the Paramount Plus project. 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. Why is Gina Carano not in The Mandalorian season 3 as Cara Dune? Knowing you were always going to give Frank alcoholic dementia, but ultimately COVID-19 knocked him out, was there anything about the end of the series that had to change because of the pandemic? While some feel that the patriarchs demise will bring the show full circle and give his kids the opportunity to move on in life, there is no doubt that it will be a sad moment for the Gallaghers. Estimates for the case fatality rate for COVID-19 vary depending on the country. Comedy can be brutal, Wells said. Covid is just the thing that finally pushed him over the edge.. Despite what would usually be a turning point for most people, Frank returns to his old ways very soon. 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. After his death, The Gallaghers read a touching letter from Frank before they attend his funeral. Was there ever a story that you wished you had contextualized more? We will never know. It seemed unrealistic to do something about the South Side of Chicago and people living barely above the poverty line and not have anybody succumb to this horrible pandemic. Millions of people have been going through this experience this past year. In your mind, do you know how it ends for these characters? Would any of Fionas storylines have filled in what the character is doing now? In my mind, she winds up back with Jimmy-Steve (Justin Chatwin). While the previous weeks episode dedicated ample time to their new living situation, this week introduced their future (off-screen) plans by posing the question of kids. I lost a close family member who had been ill in December of COVID, despite. SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Father Frank, Full of Grace, the series finale of Showtime, available on-demand now. #Shameless. And thats OK. We had a great, loyal audience for a long time. And more than a year later, many of them are still asking that very question. Below, Wells talks with THR about Franks fate, why he loves open-ended finales, what would have happened with Fiona and, yes, the mandatory spinoff question. We would have loved to continue making the show because I love making the show and youve heard me say that a bunch of times. 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. The series ends without answering if Lip (Jeremy Allen White) sold the family home or if bar owners Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton) sold it and moved to Louisville. 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. Debs (Emma Kenney) plans on moving to Texas with her daughter Franny (Paris Newton)and a new girlfriend. It was pretty much the same with the exception: We were trying to get Emmy and Emmy wanted to come back. Season 11 of the American show, Shameless, has just aired on Netflix, and fans of the show, who didnt watch the Showtime series live when it first aired, are wondering if the shows lead, Frank Gallagher, dies in the latest chapter. Contact a healthcare provider if you have any questions about your test result or if your symptoms worsen. But we get to tell a lot of great stories with these people and wonderful actors, writers and directors. Steve Has Been MIA From 'Shameless' Since Season 5, but Could He Return? Instead, his poor sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) met her demise and he escaped Miami to restart asa lumberjack in Oregon?! Despite much hope among fans, Emmy Rossum, who left the show in. In other news, Why is Gina Carano not in The Mandalorian season 3 as Cara Dune? Frank can still make you smile even as hes dying. As showrunner John Wells tells The Hollywood Reporter, the plan was always to have Frank face consequences of his addictions and horrible parenting an agreement he made with his Emmy-nominated star Macy. And NO. In the first season, we are introduced to Frank, a single father who can barely look after himself, let alone his kids. If nothing killed him before, its hard to imagine what would finally do him in. Instead, Fiona appears during the finale in a series of flashbacks as Frank is dying. Or perhaps not. And NO. Learn how Gallagher can help with your COVID-19 efforts. At the beginning of series finale of Shameless, we see the kids sharing the news that "Frank OD'd again" as he's passed out on the couch. Sadly, the rest of the Gallagher clan never learn he is dying thanks to his ridiculously large hospital file, although Lip crosses paths with the ambulance without knowing it. Kevin (Steve Howey) and Veronica (Shanola Hampton). Interactive tools, including maps, epidemic curves and other charts and graphics, with downloadable data, allow users to track and explore the latest trends . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Ruby's death would be covered up by the Maguire family. However, after Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) spent the episode doling out parking tickets to rich folks who were abusing disabled persons parking spots, he and his new police bud Arthur (Joshua Malina) mused about what a great cop bar the place could be. All rights reserved. During the unexpected time off, Wells rethought the season and decided to incorporate the pandemic, using Frank, who was long past his sell-by date for various medical reasons, as the poster boy for anti-maskers. 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. Theyre just hilarious. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Now, as the group packs up their bags, their hula lamps, and moves on from the South Side of Chicago, Shameless fans prepare to say goodbye ahead of the series finale on April 11. The penultimate episode gave us some pretty strong clues as to how the Showtime series would wrap up, but one major cliffhanger had us wondering: does Frank die? If its the Gallaghers read a touching letter from Frank before they attend his funeral but We get tell! 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