Actor Jeremy Allen White stars as Lip Gallagher alongside Emmy Rossum in “Shameless.”

After nine seasons, Emmy Rossum, who plays Fiona Gallagher on the Showtime series “Shameless,” has announced her departure from the cast.
She publicized her decision on Aug. 30 via Facebook and Instagram post. Rossum’s in depth and emotional post explained her decision and told fans how lucky she feels to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Gallagher family.

She expresses how the Shameless cast truly feels like her family, and they have provided her with stability and confidence in her ability to grow. Fiona has been an essential character on Shameless since the start of the show in 2011 and many fans are unsure of how the show will go on without her.
For those not familiar with the show, Shameless is about a dysfunctional family of six kids, Fiona being the oldest, and their drunk father, Frank, who lives on the South Side of Chicago.

Frank is not very fatherly to say the least, so Fiona has practically raised her siblings on her own. Each episode shows another crazy scenario and the show follows the Gallagher’s as they grow up and change over time. Fiona has always served as a backbone for her family and friends, and it is difficult to imagine Shameless without her. Her younger siblings often go to her for guidance and advice, even if they do not always take it. In many episodes, it seems like everything might fall apart, in some cases literally, without her there to get things figured out and back on track.

As the Gallagher kids have grown and become more independent, Fiona has become an even bigger aspect of the show, and there is no doubt that the cast and fans alike agree that the show simply will not be the same without her.

Fiona’s final season, Season 9, aired its first episode on Sunday, Sept. 9 on Showtime. This season will have 14 episodes instead of the usual 12 and is being aired in two seven-episode parts, with the second part airing on Jan. 20, 2019.

The season finale is set to air in March, and executive producer John Wells says that they are working hard to create a “Gallagher-worthy sendoff” for Fiona. As of now, Shameless has not yet been renewed for a tenth season, but in Rossum’s farewell post she seemed confident that the show would continue on without her.

After being a part of Shameless for nine seasons, Rossum has become comfortable, and it is possible that she is looking for more of a challenge that is going to push her out of that comfort zone.

She was encouraged by producer John Wells to direct several episodes of Shameless, so it is also possible that she will go on to experiment with her directing and writing. Regardless of what she goes on to do, Rossum assures fans in her farewell that she will always be rooting for her family, the Gallagher family.
 

Emmy Rossum, who portrays Fiona in “Shameless,” will be exiting the series at the end of this season.