Shameless season 8 not meant to be the end for Showtime series

CarterMatt recently wrote a piece wondering about what the Shameless season 9 renewal odds are for Showtime. Based on what we’re hearing now, they could be even better than we first initially thought.

What is it about this show that gives it the longevity that some other Showtime series have not had? Streaming success is a big part of it. While it has a fairly sizable audience of live viewers, the show has become a pretty enormous hit in terms of people choosing to watch after the fact. With its smart writing and great character storylines, there isn’t any reason to end the show right now — especially since there does seem to be interest among the cast in keeping things going for a little while longer.

For a little more insight on this subject, just take a look at what showrunner Josh Wells had to say as a part of a new interview with Entertainment Weekly:

“We can write it forever, because things are going to keep happening to them. I suspect on this show, we’re much more likely to just walk away on a Tuesday and let the audience feel like the Gallaghers are out there and doing okay, rather than some calamitous event — the hospital’s closing! The war is over! The president is leaving office! This is really just a story about a family’s life, and going through whatever struggles they’re going through.”

“More than likely, we’ll probably just drop out of it at some point, likely when some of the cast members decide they don’t want to continue anymore. That’ll probably be the end of the show more than anything else.”

Meanwhile, series star William H. Macy also told the site that for the time being the plan seems to be doing one or two more seasons beyond this one, which means that we could get all the way to the milestone of season 10. That’s an impressive feat given that this is a show no one had any specific expectations for when it first premiered. It’s turned into a consistent source of crazy fun and a show with a tone and style unlike any other on TV.

Shameless season 8 premieres on Showtime this Sunday. For more news regarding the series, be sure to head over to the link here to see a promo for the premiere!

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