The eighth season of the Chicago-centric Showtime hit “Shameless” is in limbo after one if its female stars has demanded equal pay to her male counterpart, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Emmy Rossum, who plays Fiona Gallagher, is demanding equal payment to that of her co-star, William H. Macy, as well as more money per episode than Macy after making less for years, the celebrity news website reports. Macy plays Frank Gallagher, a booze and drugs addled father who leaves his eldest daughter, Fiona, to raise his other kids as best she can while he parties, swindles and schemes.
The Hollywood Reporter said Warner Brothers TV and Showtime declined to comment on the negotiations.
Sources tell the Reporter if Rossum closes her deal, producer WBTV then will renegotiate with the rest of the cast. If she doesn’t close a deal, the website reports, Showtime could renew the show without her or cancel it entirely.
The show’s episodes contain plots like kidnapping an elderly woman from a retirement community to collect social security, Frank running from roughnecks after he fails to help burn a car for insurance money, or convincing the school district the children are tended to by responsible parents by dressing a car thief in a suit to pass him off as a doting father.
You can watch the show on Netflix and Showtime.
