‘Shameless’ Season 8 Script Reading Picture Causes Confusion: Who Is Sheila Callaghan?
A picture of the first Shameless Season 8 Episode 1 script reading has caused a bit of confusion among fans after surfacing on social media a few days ago.
Shanola Hampton (Veronica), Steve Howey (Kevin), William H. Macy (Frank Gallagher), Jeremey Allen White (Lip Gallagher), and Cameron Monaghan (Ian Gallagher) can be clearly seen sitting across the table in the Season 8 Episode 1 script reading picture. Part of the name card for for Isidora Goreshter (Svetlana) can also be seen off to the side of the table. It, however, isn’t the Shameless Season 8 cast that has caused confusion among fans. It’s the name card in the center of the picture that has caused the confusion.
Is Sheila returning to Shameless?
A large portion of the Shameless fan base saw the name Sheila Callaghan and quickly assumed it meant the beloved Sheila Jackson (played by Joan Cusack) would be returning for Season 8.
Emma Kenney – known for her role as Debbie Gallagher – shared a picture for the table read of the script for Season 8 Episode 1 just a day ago on Instagram. The picture has accumulated more than 3,000 comments in 24 hours and they were heavily focused on the name “Sheila.” Did this picture mean Sheila was coming back? Would Shameless fans get to enjoy Frank’s ex once more? Unfortunately, it appears as if fans of the Showtime series may have jumped the gun on this one.
In time, a few Instagram users pointed out the fact that Sheila Callaghan and Sheila Jackson were not the same person. Typically, the name cards will include the actual name of the actor or actress with the name of his or her character in quotes underneath. Because Sheila Callaghan doesn’t have a name in quotes underneath her name on the card, fans can assume she isn’t actually a member of the cast.
Taking into consideration the angle of the Season 8 script reading picture, one would assume it was Sheila Callaghan herself that took the picture. Turns out, Sheila Callaghan had shared the picture on Twitter a day before Emma Kenney shared it on Instagram.
Who is Sheila Callaghan?
If the Callaghan in the Season 8 Episode 1 script reading picture isn’t a member of the Shameless cast, then who is she?
According to IMDb, Sheila Callaghan is actually a writer and producer for the Showtime series. Joan Cusack is the actual name of the actress who played the role of Sheila Jackson. As Showtime reminds us, Sheila was the crazy lady in the neighborhood who was obsessed with cleaning her house, suffered from agoraphobia, and had bizarre interests in the bedroom.
As those who have followed Shameless know, fans were forced to say goodbye to Sheila Jackson in Season 5 when she had finally had enough of Frank Gallagher’s shenanigans. While it is beyond all Shameless fans as to how, it was not until Season 5 that Sheila finally realized Frank was – and always would be – a selfish jerk.
After nursing him back from near death with the help of Sammi and Frank going right back to the same selfish Frank he had always been, something inside of Sheila appeared to have snapped. And, really, who could blame her? Frank blew up her house in an attempt to keep her from selling it. In the final moments of Sheila Jackson, fans watched her drive off into the sunset with an RV. Considering she no longer had a home, most agreed it was a fitting end to her character.
While the request for Joan Cusack to return to Shameless to take on the role of Sheila has been a very common one among fan groups of the series, it doesn’t appear to be in the cards for the near future. The bigger question is – how would Sheila be written back into the show should they decide to bring her back?
Had you made the mistake of believing the rumor that Joan Cusack was returning for Season 8 of Shameless because of this script reading picture? Let us know about it in the comments section below!
[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images & Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Showtime/AP Images]
