Could Jimmy and Fiona have a happy ending? Don’t hold your breath, Shameless fans. “I can say absolutely nothing about it, although you don’t want to perform [the] same magic trick twice in one season,” showrunner John Wells told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview, his response was addressing hopes that Justin Chatwin, who portrayed Jimmy in the first three seasons of the drama then appeared briefly in seasons 4 and 5, would return.
The “magic trick” Wells is referencing was done on the Sunday, October 14, episode, which marked the last for Cameron Monaghan’s Ian. In his final moments, fans watched Ian reunite with Noel (Mickey Milkovich). While the pair is in jail, they’re still together.
Emmy Rossum’s ending is still up in the air as the second half of season 9 begins in January. During the Sunday, October 21, midseason finale, Fiona lost everything and landed back at the Gallagher home.
“We thought in the world of the Gallaghers that that is what would be most likely to happen to Fiona. It was always our intention to do it, even before Emmy let us know that she was going to be done [with Shameless],” Wells said. “So a little bit of hubris, a little bit of flying too close to the sun, and so we think it’s good storytelling and it carries us through a lot of the second half of the season.”
Wells, who wrote and directed Rossum’s final episode, called her exit “brilliant,” and revealed that the door will remain open.
“The character is moving away from us. It was sad. But I hope for the audience that it will be as rewarding and appealing as what happened with the end of Ian’s story in episode six. That’s what we’re striving for: a show that’s entertaining and emotional,” he said. “[Her exit] is a little surprising and yet makes perfect sense … I’m being vague because I don’t want to lose the fun of what she actually chooses to do or how that comes to be. I hope that people who have invested as many years in watching the show and caring about these characters as we have that it feels satisfying and enjoyable.”
He added: “As Emmy said in statement, Fiona is ‘moving down the block.’ I’m hopeful that she’s going to miss us enough that she wants to keep coming back and doing more in the future. And the same with Cam. I hope he decides that he wants to figure out a way to stay involved.”
Shameless returns to Showtime Sunday, January 20, at 9 p.m. ET.
