Emmy Rossum has announced that she will be parting ways with Showtime's Shameless after 9 seasons on the hit show. Rossum has played Fiona Gallagher since 2011 and announced her departure through a lengthy social media post to fans. Showtime has yet to make an official statement, but it is believed that Rossum will continue to shoot Season 9 and leave afterwards. The show is set to return in September for part one of the season and then back in January of 2019 for the second half.

In Emmy Rossum's social media post to the fans of Shameless, she spoke about the family element of the show. She grew up as an only child and never had the big family that being a part of Shameless offered her. The cast and crew of the show have watched everybody grow up and have become a real-life giant family off the screen. As for leaving the series, Rossum assures that the show will go on. She explains.

"I know you will continue on without me, for now. There is much more Gallagher story to be told. I will always be rooting for my family. Try not to think of me as gone, just think of me as moving down the block. With love, always."

Elsewhere in Emmy Rossum's letter, she calls the chance to play Fiona Gallagher on Shameless a "gift." She recalled the first time that she auditioned for the part, walking in the rain so that she could get the proper disheveled look down, and revealing that she was offered the part on the spot during her third audition. Rossum remembers jumping up and down, crying tears of joy after getting the part and says, "the last eight years have been the best of my life."

As for why she's leaving the show after nine seasons, Emmy Rossum did not elaborate. However, she did talk about how long they have all been making Shameless, creating over 100 hours of TV and taking pride in the fact that they have spent so much time on the series. In 2016, Rossum made headlines when she decided not to renew her contract in an effort to receive more money. Over the years, she had been paid significantly less than co-star William H. Macy and demanded to make more money in an effort to balance things out. Warner Bros. Television and the actress were able to come to terms on a new contract.

Shameless premiered in 2011, and is based off the U.K. series of the same name. The show takes place in the South Side of Chicago, but is shot mostly in Los Angeles, except for exterior shots, which are filmed in Chicago. Season 9 is set to premiere on September 9th, and is the longest-running original scripted series in Showtime's history. It's hard to imagine Shameless without Emmy Rossum's Fiona Gallagher, but for now, it looks like we'll see what that looks like in the tenth season. You can read the entire statement on Emmy Rossum's Facebook page.