Shameless renewed for season 9 on Showtime 

The dysfunctional Gallagher family isn’t going anywhere!

for a ninth season, the network’s  president and CEO David Nevins announced Wednesday. The news arrives three days after the show’s season 8 premiere, which was its highest-rated rated debut since the season 3 opener, according to the network.

“We are so grateful to Showtime for giving us the opportunity to continue making

,” said series executive producer and showrunner John Wells in a statement. “It’s a labor of love (and a blast) for all of us.”

“As challenging as it can be for any show simply to maintain viewers in the current TV landscape, 

 is adding them in droves,” said Nevins. “But it’s no mystery why. The series’ reputation for rich and resonant characters and for deep – and deeply twisted – comedy has drawn not only faithful longtime viewers, but a steadily growing audience. And creatively, the season that kicked off this past Sunday is stronger than ever.”

As of right now, there’s no word yet on whether season 9 will be its final installment. In a recent interview with EW, star William H. Macy, who has received four Emmy nominations for playing patriarch Frank, said he suspected the show had another season or two left in it.

“When we finished season 7, that was supposed to be the end of it, and I started to entertain the notion of life after 

for me,” said Macy. “I gave some thought to it — a little bit — about how we would end. But I think that’s not upon us. Not yet. I think we’ll do another season, perhaps two more.”

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