Showtime’s Shameless has experienced many casting shake-ups throughout the past decade, but now two fan-favorite characters are returning for season ten. Cameron Monaghan (Gotham), who played Ian Gallagher, left the series in 2018 with no plans to return to the series. However, Ian made another appearance in season nine to help send Emmy Rossum’s character, Fiona, off of the show. Convincing Monaghan to come back to the series beyond the cameo was not easy. According to showrunner John Wells, Monaghan had one condition for his return: Noel Fisher (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) had to return as Mickey.
The characters Ian and Mickey had a powerful on-and-off again relationship on Shameless that spanned numerous seasons. Fans were given as close to a happy ending that Shameless likes to give with a reunion between the two during Ian’s farewell episode. Upon arriving in prison, Ian discovers that his cellmate is his ex-boyfriend Mickey and the two share an embrace.
Monaghan describes the relationship as “Shakespearean” and hints that their happy ending in prison may be more tumultuous than the pair anticipated. Monaghan teases, “Like any romantic relationship, you need a healthy level of distance and separation, and that’s something not afforded to them. They’re in a challenging place and trying to work through their issues. Now, the way that people work through their issues on Shameless tends to be pretty volatile. I won’t exactly say how they work on solving them, but I will say it involves shivs and stabbings. [Laughs]”
Fisher, who for the first time since season five will be a series regular, added, “It turns out that living in cramped quarters without much break from one another is not necessarily all that conducive to a healthy relationship. It’s basically living together in the worst studio apartment you can possibly imagine.”
Shameless returns November 3rd. Watch the teaser below.