After more than a decade of Gallagher family chaos on Chicago's South Side, Shameless has come to an end with its season 11 finale, "Father Frank, Full of Grace" - but is there any hope of Shameless season 12, or perhaps a spinoff series?
Based on the UK comedy-drama series of the same name, Shameless debuted on Showtime in 2011 and still has most of its original core cast members. Emmy Rossum's Fiona Gallagher, the eldest of Frank Gallagher's children and the de facto parent to her younger siblings, left Chicago at the end of Shameless season 9, and in January 2020 it was announced that the show would end with season 11.
Though a Shameless revival or reboot might one day happen, for now there are no plans for Shameless season 12. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter last year, showrunner John Wells said he was "a little disappointed but not horribly upset," and that the show was ending because "Showtime felt the timing was right for the final season and I'm happy to go along with that." He has also shut down the possibility of making a spinoff focusing on just one or two of the Gallagher siblings, or on neighbors Kevin and Veronica. Prior to the show's cancellation he told THR, "I've never been a big fan of spinoffs," and in last year's interview he was firm about his intention to create a definitive ending:
"We haven't given any thought to it. I haven't been big on reviving any of the shows or continuing shows. They have a natural ending. I don't want to talk ill of anybody else's attempts to bring something back but there is something about the first time they are on that's kind of magical. It was a show that people loved and you run the risk of undermining that. We are really proud of what we've been able to do with Shameless and the stories we've been able to tell and frankly that Showtime allowed us to tell. So, never say never but we haven't had any conversations about it."
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for the Shameless season 11 finale.
Shameless season 11 has been spent wrapping up the key characters' stories and sending them off in different directions. Kev and V made the decision to leave Chicago and move to Louisville, Kentucky, in search of a better life. Meanwhile, Lip convinced (most of) his siblings that it was time to sell the Gallagher house and use the money to move into their own homes. From a single close-knit family unit, the Gallaghers have recently begun starting families of their own and are just about ready to strike out on their own.
The final season of Shameless also incorporated the coronavirus pandemic into its story, culminating in Frank Gallagher's death in the series finale. After being diagnosed with alcoholic dementia and surviving a massive overdose that was meant to be his suicide, Frank ultimately died when he contracted COVID-19 from wearing a discarded mask. William H. Macy's terrible yet charismatic family patriarch was arguably the heart of the series despite leaving his children to mostly raise themselves, and Frank's death is an apt way of telling audiences that Shameless really is over.