Even in the intensely volatile world of Showtime’s long-running dark comedy “Shameless,” a twist that happened between Seasons 4 and 5 confused many fans.
Viewers will recall that the series followed the Gallagher family, which did its best to grow up and survive despite the unpredictable behavior of their alcoholic father, Frank (William H. Macy) and absentee mother. The confusing, between-seasons twist went like this:
In the Season 4 finale, eldest Gallagher sibling Fiona (Emmy Rossum) is hired by a diner owner named Charlie (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who is willing to overlook her recent felony drug possession and child endangerment charges. When Season 5 starts, Charlie is nowhere to be seen, and Fiona has a new boss, Sean, played by Dermot Mulroney. Even the name of the restaurant is different, having gone from “The Golden House Restaurant” to “Patsy’s Pies.” It’s quite the switcheroo, and the show never really explained it, instead giving Sean one throwaway line about how he didn’t hire Fiona, but he can still fire her.
What happened to Charlie, and why did the show seem to set up a romantic arc with him and Fiona that never materialized? Unfortunately, it all came down to scheduling. Morgan was committed to a History Channel miniseries called “Texas Rising” and would be in Mexico filming at the same time “Shameless” Season 5 was in production.
In an Instagram reply at the time (that was screen-captured and shared on Reddit), Jeffrey Dean Morgan explained that “both projects tried very hard” to make scheduling work for everyone, but it didn’t happen. He expressed understanding over the confusion it caused, saying, “It’s super weird me just showing up … with the sweet neck tat and then disappearing. That wasn’t the plan.”