‘Shameless’ Renewed For Season 8 By Showtime

Shameless star Emmy Rossum jumped the gun a little bit five days ago, confirming that the hit Showtime series will return for an eighth season as she told fans that she had closed a deal to return. Now the network has made it official, announcing an eighth-season renewal for the show on the heels of its seventh-season finale last night.

Created by Paul Abbott and developed for U.S. television by John Wells, Shameless, starring William H. Macy and Rossum, has been Showtime’s unsung hero. The longest-running series on the network, Shameless is getting stronger as it ages. It’s averaging 5.8 million viewers per week, neck and neck with Homeland (5.9 million) as Showtime’s most watched series.

Production on the 12-episode Season 8 will begin in 2017, per Showtime. (Rossum said last week that they will be back at work in May.)

Season 7 of Shameless, from John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television, was executive produced by John Wells, Nancy M. Pimental, Christopher Chulack, Krista Vernoff, Etan Frankel and Sheila Callaghan.

As season seven of Shameless came to an end, the Gallaghers dealt with the loss of one of their own, and grappled with mixed feelings about their grief. Fiona (Rossum) had to once again care for Frank (Macy) in his time of need, while Frank had a new scheme in mind. Along with Macy and Rossum, the series stars Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Cameron Monaghan and Isidora Goreshter.