Season 10 is a biggie for Frank Gallagher (William H Macy) and his unruly kids because there’s no more big sister Fiona fixing things. Emmy Rossum quit at the end of Season 9, leaving her character’s siblings to fend for themselves.
That doesn’t mean there’s any less drama – Lip and Debbie (Jeremy Allen White and Emma Kenney) are stepping up to run the house but they get into more trouble than ever. Lip, for starters, is a dad now. Debbie is running a merchandising scam. Even Frank’s getting in on the action by trying to con Mickey Milkovich out of a liver transplant for himself.
Fiona is mentioned all the time so she still feels like part of the family, but her leaving definitely impacted the show, writes TV editor Kimberly Ricci at uproxx.com: “Surprisingly enough, there’s been a burst of energy now that the anchor has been lifted. Although the first episode of this season struggles to find a new rhythm, the next few prove that there’s more life left in the series without Fiona.”