'Shameless' Boss Explains the Surprising and Open-Ended Series Finale Courtesy of Paul Sarkis/SHOWTIME Showrunner John Wells talks with The Hollywood Reporter about the ways the pandemic changed the series finale and how travel challenges prevented one long-awaited reunion from happening. [This story contains spoilers from the series finale of Showtime's Shameless.] After 11 seasons and 134 episodes, Showtime's Shameless wrapped its run Sunday with a series finale that was directly impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic in two key ways. Ultimately, Frank's (William H. Macy) past catches up with him as a combination of COVID-19 and the effects of alcoholic dementia prove to be more than he can handle and the character dies alone in a hospital.