Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Shameless Season 9

 


The 14-episode 9th season of Shameless aired from the fall of 2018 to the spring of 2019 (split into two seven-episode parts). As anyone who is a fan of the series knows, the show has had a ton of cast turnover throughout its run, and this year is no exception. Notably, this is the last season with Emmy Rossum, who has been the co-lead of the show since season 1. Also, Cameron Monaghan had a very reduced role after the halfway point of the season as he was contemplating leaving the show as well.

I will not go into much of the season's storylines for those who have not seen it. Still, the basics are, that Frank totally drops the "Saint Francis" act from last season and is back to being horrible, Lip is struggling with trying to raise Xan and dealing with a new, not necessarily healthy, relationship, Carl and Debbie end up in a love triangle with his new girlfriend, Ian faces the consequences of blowing up the van last season, Debbie is starting to take charge of the family, and Liam (again) gets actual storylines, including a pretty hilarious one at the end of the season. Like the past few seasons, Kev and V are around, but their storylines mostly revolve around the bar and their family life. The show does make a lot of jokes revolving around the current political climate, with a pretty hilarious storyline with Frank as the campaign manager for "Mo White," a former congressman on probation (and not allowed near schools), allowing for Frank to say things like "We Need Mo White" and print t-shirts with basically racist slogans. There is also a great episode with Bob Saget, Courtney Cox, and Katey Segal (who has a recurring role in the middle of the season), all guest-starring.

The Blu-ray set is a four-disc MOD release. The only extras are deleted scenes for every episode, ranging from 25 seconds to a few minutes. So, unless you get it to add to an existing DVD/Blu-ray collection, you are not missing a ton of extras if you just stream it. There are no other making-of or behind-the-scenes material, which would have been nice given it was Emmy Rossum's final season. Overall, the series is definitely starting to drag a bit. It was renewed for a 10th season and an 11th final season, both of which have already aired. While I do not think it is as good as in the first few seasons, I think it is still entertaining and worth watching.

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