When will ‘Shameless’ Leave Netflix?

With the arrival of the eleventh and final season of Shameless on Netflix, that’ll now begin a countdown clock as to when the series will now depart Netflix. However, we don’t quite know when that will be but we do have some best guesses.

The Shameless US adaptation is based on the UK version. It has been one the best examples of American shows adapting the UK show. That’s largely thanks to Paul Abbott being involved.

We’ve followed the Gallaghers for over a decade but their reign came to an end on April 11th, 2021 with the finale airing on the network Showtime.

Shameless will leave Netflix.

We often leave out this section in our posts as we often take for granted that people understand licensing so here’s a quick explainer.

Netflix explained that a lot of the content they use is licensed. This means they rent it from people who have the show to a set period.

Netflix says that titles can expire when they are concerned about:

“Are the rights to the title still available?

How popular is it, and how much does it cost?

Seasonal and regional factors”

When will Shameless go on Netflix?

Exactly when the series will depart Netflix in full is yet to be announced and likely won’t be until a month before departure.

Thanks to the previous Warner Brothers Television titles, we have some ideas about when it could end.

Netflix licensed a bunch of WBTV titles from The CW and we know from that contract that once the show’s final seeason gets added, it then takes 5 years for the show to depart in full.

The CW contract was a different one so it may not be the most comparable. Gotham’s final season has now been on Netflix for two years as of September 30th and is still on Netflix. This suggests that Shameless could also be subject to the 5-year rule.

If that’s the case, it won’t be until October 2026 until Netflix US loses the show.

Netflix appears to be able to access WBTV programs for much less time than other streaming services. Season 11 isn’t expected to hit Netflix until 2022 in most regions outside the US and many previous series from the distributor leave after 2 years. That’d mean most regions outside the US will lose Shameless in 2024.

After leaving Netflix, where will Shameless be streamed?

HBO Max is the logical choice for Shameless to stream once it leaves Netflix. That’s where many WBTV produced television series get moved to after leaving Netflix and the likes.

With that said, given Showtime’s involvement in the show we could see it licensed to Paramount+ too.

What will you do with Shameless when it leaves Netflix? Comment below to let us know your thoughts.