William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, and Jeremy Allen White in Shameless (2011)

If You’re Looking for ‘Shameless’ Season 12, You Might Be Looking for a While

Shows like Shameless have been a source of twisted comfort for fans since the beginning. We love to watch the Gallaghers stumble through life in Chicago without any real help from Frank (William H. Macy). So after season 11, you might be wondering when you’re going to return to them.

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Well, if the series were to head into season 12, it wouldn’t be with Frank as part of the series, because he died from COVID-19 in season 11. But more than that, the series has come to a fitting end in general for the family. So why wish for more?

That and the creatives behind Shameless have talked about how they are not going to continue on with the show. The series is, unfortunately, over, so if you’re looking for a season 12 release date, you’re not going to find one. During an interview with Variety, executive producer John Wells talked about the series and how they can’t just keep going back to the Gallaghers time and time again. “With this, we’re just following people’s lives. We just have to walk away from them at some point.”

Sometimes, it is good to say goodbye

The saga of the Gallagher family ran for 11 seasons, and that is better than most shows nowadays. To put it into perspective, that is how many seasons The Walking Dead had and people thought it was “a lot,” so Shameless having 11 seasons under its belt is a huge achievement. But more than that, sometimes it is just nice to have stories end.

If we just kept going back to the Gallagher well, you’d get tired of them after a while. Now, we’re left missing them and having that desire to go back and watch the series from the beginning over and over again. That’s better than continuing on and ruining characters you know and love, right?

So sadly, no. There will not be a season 12 of Shameless, and we won’t get to see what they’re up to in Chicago but maybe that’s for the best.

(featured image: Showtime)


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Rachel Leishman
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.