ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How far along were you writing the final season when the pandemic hit?
I feel like you guys were prepping to start shooting, right?
JOHN WELLS:We were three days away from starting shooting.
Credit: Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME
So we rewrote everything from the beginning.
There has been a big debate over whether shows should be incorporating things like the pandemic into story lines.
[Laughs] Never any debate about it.
Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME
Will there be more of that for him, and will you dive into some of the BLM movement?
Let’s start with newlyweds Ian and Mickey.
Now they have to figure out how to be married.
It’s one thing to get married and a whole other thing to be married.
And it’s an issue.
Did we actually talk about all of the things we should have talked about before we get married?
So that’s a big part of what’s happening with Ian and Mickey.
Where do they belong?
How are they actually going to be a married couple now that they’re a married couple?
And what does marriage mean?
What’s up with Lip?
And it’s a comedy, so we’re trying to find ways to make it funny.
We’re dealing with some healthcare issues that they have to deal with within their families.
That definitely applies to Lip and Tami.
Where do we find here now?
How do you move away from each other and have your own relationships?
How do you carve out your own life, and yet continue to look out for each other?
So that’s a big part of what she’s dealing with.
She would be happy if they all just stayed in that house and nothing ever changed.
This works for me.
It may not work for everyone else, but it works for me."
How is that going?
And so we’re trying to use Carl to do that.
It’s tied into the Black Lives Matter conversation, the defunding the police conversations.
All of that sounds really serious but it’s actually really funny [on the show].
And that is what Carl is trying to figure out.
You mentioned V earlier, but what else will be happening with her and Kev?
They previously expanded The Alibi to include a gym.
Again, sounds really serious, but it’s actually pretty funny.
And Frank is still Frank.
Should we expect that to continue?
So that is where it’s heading.
What cost does Frank ultimately have to pay for all of these years of abuse?
She and I have talked, and I think she would like to come back for a brief something.
Again, not trying to be clever about it or anything.
But would love her to, I think she would like to, not sure it will be possible.
Shamelessreturns to Showtime on Sunday at 9 p.m.
