“Time’s precious, don’t f—ing waste it.
Have a good time.
I sure as hell did.”
William H. Macy and the cast of ‘Shameless’.Paul Sarkis/Showtime
That you did, Frank (William H. Macy).
And for 11 seasons, so didShamelessfans.
Sunday’s “Father Frank, Full of Grace” marked the end for bothShamelessand its unforgettable patriarch.
Paul Sarkis/Showtime
Well, Frank was there, kind of.
But we’re all Gallaghers.
My only advice is to stop worrying so damn much.
Paul Sarkis/Showtime
[Laughs] Me, hell, I wish I’d partied more.
You’ll figure it out.
The only way I can understand how you ended up marrying a Milkovich.
Carl, I never could figure you out.
Can’t believe you betrayed the family and became a cop.I’m hoping you’re already on the take.
Debbie, you remind me of your mother, and not in a good way.
Good luck in life, you’re gonna need it.
Liam, you’re the apple of my eye, you handsome devil.
Everybody says you look just like me.
You’re moving, I say good riddance.
And me, Frank Gallagher, father, teacher, mentor, captain of our little ship.
I guess that’s it.
Not much left to say really.
Except, time’s precious, don’t f—ing waste it.
Have a good time.
I sure as hell did."
(For moreShamelessfinal season, check outKenney’s personal behind-the-scenes photos.)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did this feel like the right conclusion?
Was this always how it had to end for Frank?
JOHN WELLS:Bill and I had been talking for years.
So that really led us to this.
It’s just not realistic to what happens to people.
That it exists in the real world and that the consequences for the Gallaghers are real.
“Oh, everything’s going to be fine!”
It was a very conscious choice.
Both with the very Frank-like note and his literal rise above his family on the way to heaven.
Which, if that is where he’s going, we should all feel good about our chances.
[Laughs] It was just always an image that I had in my head.
One that was more narcissistic and Frank-centric.
And then we wanted to mirror theopening of the series, 11 years ago, around the bonfire.
In the end, is that what got in the way of us seeing Fiona one last time?
That’s exactly what happened.
Emmy and I had a lot of conversations about it, trying to make it work.
It all seemed a little cheesy, so we didn’t do it.
I don’t know if it’s the right decision, to be honest.
You’re almost damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
And that is saying something because you gota lotin over 11 seasons.
Yeah, never say never, right?
I could have written this show forever.
But, yeah, I could have done it forever.
Have you had the chance yet to reflect back and think about how muchShamelesshas meant to you?
This has been more than 11 years of your life.
So we’re still racing to the finish line just to get it done.
But I actually think this one is going to hit me kind of hard.
I love the cast, I love the writing staff, we just had a fantastic time.
I’m going to miss everybody, that’s always the hardest part.
It’sShameless, we had to do something.
