Showtime announced the renewal of the comedy-drama series Shameless for season 10 last month.
Gary Levine, Showtime’s co-president of entertainment, confirmed at the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour on January 31, 2019, that life with the dysfunctional Gallagher family will continue on Showtime for yet another season.
“The Gallaghers are a force of nature, and they are coming back,” Levine said. “Shameless, with its ever-growing fan base, is like no other show on television. We are thrilled it will live on with its unique blend of love and larceny on Showtime.”
Showtime’s renewal of Shameless for season 10 makes the show not only the premium cable network’s longest-running scripted original series ever, but also the network’s first series to hit the 10-season mark.
With the Shameless season 9 finale set to air on March 10, 2019, fans are already asking questions about the upcoming season.
To answer all your questions, we have compiled everything we know so far about Shameless season 10, including when the new season will be released, when to expect the official trailer to come out, who are the returning cast, what to expect of the new season, and the future of the Showtime hit comedy.
We will also be updating the page with new details (release date, trailers, casting announcement and plot) about Shameless season 10 as we learn about them.
Shameless season 10 release date
Showtime has not yet announced an official release date for Shameless season 10, but the premium cable network confirmed at the winter TCA that production on the upcoming season will begin in 2019, meaning that season 10 could premiere later in the year.
While we can’t predict an exact release date for Shameless season 10, the past pattern of release dates can help us guess when the upcoming season will likely come out.
Previous seasons have come out either early in the year in January or late in the year in the fall or winter. No season has so far premiered in the summer.
The first six seasons all premiered in January, while seasons 7 and 8 premiered in October and November respectively. The first seven-episode half of season 9 premiered in September, while the second seven-episode half premiered in January.
If the past pattern of premiere dates is anything to go by, we can expect Shameless season 10 to either premiere in the fall or winter of 2019 or in January 2020.
There is no word yet on the number of episodes that Shameless season 10 will feature. But all previous seasons have featured 12 episodes, with the exception of the current season 9 which was split into two seven-episode parts.
Shameless season 9, which currently airs on Sundays at 9/8c, is scheduled to end on March 10, 2019.
Shameless: General details
Shameless, a Showtime comedy-drama, is John Wells’ adaptation of Paul Abbott’s British show of the same name for a U.S. audience. The series debuted on Showtime on January 9, 2011, and is executive produced by John Wells, Nancy Pimental, Paul Abbott, Mark Mylod, Etan Frankel, Christopher Chulack, Davey Holmes, Andrew Stearn, and Krista Vernoff.
The production companies behind the series include John Wells Production, Warner Bros. Television and Bonanza Productions.
Showtime confirmed the renewal of Shameless for season 10 in January 2019, at the TCA winter press tour. The renewal, which came despite declining ratings and the departure of the leading actress Emmy Rossum (Fiona Gallagher), was expected.
“All of us on Shameless are delighted that we get to tell more wonderful Gallagher stories,” EP John Wells said in a statement released after the renewal announcement, “[and we are] thankful to Showtime for their continued support.”
Production on Shameless season 10 is set to begin sometime in 2019, but no premiere date has been announced yet.
The series, set and filmed in the South Side of Chicago (filming has also taken place in Los Angeles), follows the dysfunctional family of the single alcoholic father Frank Gallagher (played by William H. Macy). Frank is struggling to raise his six children alone and the family is caught in a constant struggle to keep their heads above water.
The series, which has passed the 100th episode mark, is distinguished among popular working class comedy dramas — such as Roseanne, The Middle, One Day at a Time and Superstore — by its frank depiction of poverty (due mostly to Frank’s alcoholism), mental illness, and drug abuse, which affect millions of American families.
Besides William H. Macy, the series stars Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Steve Howey, Cameron Monaghan, Richard Flood, Shanola Hampton, Emma Kenney, Cameron Monaghan, and Christian Isaiah.
Shameless: Audience response so far
Shameless currently ranks among Showtime’s most-watched original series
Shameless season 9 is currently averaging 0.36 in the 18-49 demo compared with Homeland (season 7), which averaged a 0.30 rating. Homeland season 7 drew an average of 1.233 million viewers (Live+SameDay) compared with Shameless season 9 which is drawing an average of 1.026 million viewers.
However, Shameless season 9 ratings and viewership numbers are down by 34% and 32% respectively compared with season 8.
Other top ranking Showtime original scripted series include Ray Donovan, Billions and The Chi.
Shameless season 10: Emmy Rossum departs, Cameron Monaghan returns
Showtime also confirmed during the TCA winter press tour that Emmy Rossum is leaving the series after season 9, but Cameron Monaghan will return for season 10 as Ian Gallagher, after leaving abruptly during the first half of season 9.
Rossum first shared the news of her imminent departure with fans in August (before season 9 premiered in September 2018), when she posted a lengthy and emotional message to Facebook explaining why she was leaving.
The early announcement of Rossum’s departure was intended to allow fans time to adjust, but it came as a shock. There is no doubt that Shameless fans will miss Rossum’s character Fiona in season 10.
Fiona has been playing a leading role in the Gallagher family. As the eldest of the Gallagher siblings, she has been the de facto head of the family since dropping out of high school at the tender age of 14 to take care of her five siblings and work as the family’s income earner in place of her drunken father and absent mother.
Despite being sad about Rossum’s departure, fans admit that the timing is appropriate since all of Fiona’s younger siblings, besides Liam, have all grown into adults and are now able to fend for themselves.
Rossum shared in a recent interview with Shape that she was happy to leave the series as Fiona Gallagher at a time that she was still loving it.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself as a person and as an actor,” she said. “I want to leave the show while I still love it, and I know the door is open to come back if that feels right.”
She also added that she was leaving to spend “time writing, directing and seeing what other characters I want to play.”
Rossum is set to direct an episode of Amazon’s upcoming anthology Modern Love. She will also play a role in the upcoming movie Hard Power, alongside Liam Neeson and Laura Dern.
For his part, Cameron Monaghan revealed his planned departure just before his final season 9 episode in October, but fans are happy that he is returning to his role as Ian in season 10.
Monaghan abruptly left the series after the October 14, episode 6 — titled Face It, You are Gorgeous — in which his character Ian was sentenced to two years in prison. The prison sentence gave Ian the opportunity to join Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) behind bars.
Although showrunner John Wells told Entertainment Weekly (EW) that he hoped Monaghan (and Rossum) would return to the show in the future, he also assured fans that the show would continue despite the loss of two key characters since it has always been “about Frank (Macy) as [the] central character.”
What is next for Shameless after season 10?
Wells’ comment during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter (THR) that he “could write [Shameless] forever” implies that fans can expect to see more of the Gallaghers after season 10.
But with Rossum’s departure and with other leading cast members recently indicating that their time on the series could soon end, the future of the series is in question.
Macy, for instance, told THR back in September that while he is open to returning for “another season or two,” he wasn’t sure whether he would return after that.
“I know there’s another 10 years of stories, and I’d love to see them,” Macy said. “But when I think about acting them, my back starts to hurt a little bit. I know I want to do another season or two, and after
“I’m pretty sure we’ll do one more season, if not two,” Macy also told TVInsider earlier in November 2017. “Ten altogether sounds just about right, otherwise I might get bored.”
It is a remarkable achievement that the dysfunctional Gallagher family has managed to stay together for so long. And Wells has rightly expressed concern about the recent cast departures, wondering whether the show could survive the ongoing cast hemorrhage.
Wells has admitted in the past that the series might not continue without Macy, and that his departure would likely end the series. He told THR that season 10 might not happen without Macy.
“I think at this point if the man who plays Frank doesn’t do it anymore, we’re probably looking at having to decide whether [continuing the show] makes sense or not,” he said. “… if Bill were to decide he didn’t want to make the show anymore I think we probably would really be looking at not doing it anymore.”
“But the show continues to do very well,” he added. “We all still want to write it, and as far as I know Bill does [want to continue]. I’ll be very surprised if we don’t at least do a season 10.”
Shameless season 10 trailer
Showtime has not yet released a trailer for season 10.
The trailer for season 9 came out on July 26, 2018, just over a month before the premiere of season 9 on September 9. Showtime also dropped the trailer for season 8 on October 2, 2017, nearly a month before the release of season 8 on November 5.
Thus, going by the recent pattern, and if, as expected, production starts in 2019 and season 10 premieres in late 2019 or early 2020, fans can expect to see the official trailer as early as late summer, but more likely in the fall or winter of 2019.
We will update this page with the trailer for season 10 as soon as Showtime drops it.
Meanwhile, enjoy the trailer for season 9.
Shameless season 10 cast
Several members of the Shameless cast have already been confirmed to return for season 10.
The cast for Shameless season 10 will include series regulars such as William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher, Jeremy Allen White as Lip, Ethan Cutkosky as Carl, and Emma Kenney as Debbie.
Christian Isaiah as Liam will also return for season 10 after making his debut in the season 8 premiere.
Showtime has also confirmed that Cameron Monaghan, who left the series in the first half of season 9, when his character Ian went to join Mickey in prison, will be back for season 10. Monaghan had announced on Instagram in October 2018 that he was leaving the show.
Emmy Rossum, who plays Fiona Gallagher, the eldest of the Gallagher siblings, will be leaving the series at the end of season 9, and won’t return for season 10. Rossum is leaving Shameless to pursue new opportunities after playing Fiona alongside Macy since Wells taped the series pilot for Showtime in December 2009.
Rossum’s character, Fiona, will be written out in the season 9 finale.
Wells told THR in September 2018 that he was reworking the last two episodes of season 9 to write out Rossum’s characters. But he said he would like to see Rossum return in the future.
Shameless season 10 plot
Not much is known yet about the plot details for season 10, but we will gain a deeper insight into what to expect after season 9 finale airs on March 10, 2019.
We can also expect that after the finale airs the showrunners will be more open with fans about what will happen in Shameless season 10.
Although we do not yet have any details of the plot of season 10, fans can rest assured that Shameless will continue to serve more darkly hilarious drama and that life will continue with the Gallaghers on Showtime as usual.
But the main question that fans are asking at the moment is what changes to expect after Rossum’s exit.
After we saw some political activity in season 9, with the Gallaghers attempting to “take justice into their own hands,” we may expect the family to focus more on the struggle to find a new equilibrium after Fiona’s exit.
Fiona has been responsible for the upkeep of her siblings and raised them in the absence of their mother and an alcoholic father who is unable to fulfill his responsibilities.
After having calmed fears that Fiona would be killed off, Wells has been explaining how the season finale will set up her exit.
“There’s a moment where you realize that they don’t need you in a way that they did before and if you continue to try and make them need you, you’re actually impeding their ability to become adults,” Wells said when asked in an interview with THR how the show would explain Fiona’s departure. “That’s the direction that we’re headed in as Fiona realizes that she needs to make a decision for herself about what she wants.”
The Gallaghers will continue their survival struggle without the eldest of the siblings Fiona who has so far played the role of the family’s income earner in place of their father and mother.
But Ian’s return could mean