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Cameron Monaghan on Why He’s Returning to ‘Shameless,’ – Plus, What About Mickey?

Why Cameron Monaghan Returned Shameless
Noel Fisher as Mickey and Cameron Monaghan as Ian Gallagher in ‘Shameless.’ Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME

In October 2018, Cameron Monaghan revealed that he was exiting Shameless after starring on the series since its debut. However, on Thursday, January 31, Showtime announced Ian Gallagher will be back for season 10 – and Monaghan can’t wait.

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“I think that with a show that’s been going on for as long as it is, contracts end; it ended multiple times and we’ve continued to renew it. It got to a point where I’d been doing it for 10 years of my life and I wanted to take a break and step away and we found a good way to put a period on it for a minute,” the actor, 25, told Us Weekly exclusively on Wednesday, February 6, at theTelevision Critics Association winter press tour.

However, when he saw that Emmy Rossum was also departing the show, his thoughts changed a bit.

“I saw that and was like, ‘I don’t know if we want to lose two members of the main cast simultaneously,’” the Gotham star revealed. “As an actor, when you chose jobs, it’s a thing of career and business – financial but also creative. I wanted to know what we do if we came back. So, I talked to [showrunner] John [Wells] about possible ideas and I liked what I saw.”

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Monaghan also liked that it would set him up to focus on things he really loves.

“So that means I could not take a job if I’m not happy about it; I wanted to work on stuff that I care about, I want to be creatively satisfied. It just made sense to do this season and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

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However, he couldn’t speak to the future of Ian and Mickey, played by Noel Fisher.

“That’s a question for Noel and for John,” he said when asked if Mickey will also return. “I don’t even think it’s a question for the writers. It’s a question for the producers and for Noel.”

Shameless airs on Showtime Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.

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