Emma Kenney has renewed hope for a Shameless revival.
“I miss working with them all. It is always a sad and maybe nostalgic feeling when you wrap a show that you’ve done for years because it’s most likely never going to be the exact same casting crew,” Kenney, 25, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her Happy’s Place guest spot.
Kenney found herself reconsidering her stance after being cast on Roseanne spinoff The Conners, adding, “Doing The Conners [on ABC] did give me hope,” she noted. “In the sense that they literally brought back the entire crew from their original show from the ’80s and ’90s.”
The ongoing bond between the Shameless cast also has Kenney excited about the possibilities. “I’ve been really fortunate to work with such wonderful people that I’ve really formed strong bonds with. I’d love to get on the set with any of them again,” she continued.
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Kenney rose to stardom playing Debbie Gallagher on the Showtime hit. The series, which ran for 11 seasons, focused on the Gallagher family as they dealt with poverty, affairs, crimes and scams while living in the South Side of Chicago. Shameless also starred William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Cameron Monaghan, Noel Fisher and more.
After her role on Shameless, Kenney has been a consistent presence on our screens as Harris on The Connors and now Gracie on Happy’s Place.
While weighing in on a potential Shameless revival, Kenney named Howey, 47, as the costar she wanted to reunite with on screen. (Howey played Kevin on Shameless after his breakout role as Van on Reba.)
“I would love to get back onto a set with Steve. He is one of my favorite people and the funniest person,” she told Us about Howey, who previously appeared on Happy’s Place as a guest star. “He’s definitely kind of an uncle figure to me. And I would love to do scenes with him and Reba [McEntire]. That would honestly be so much fun.”
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In fact, Howey offered Kenney advice after she was cast as McEntire’s fictional daughter.
“I was very excited to be a part of Happy’s Place and work with Reba. I worked with Steve Howey for a long time, who also worked with Reba for a long time. So going into it, I gave him a call,” she revealed. “He had nothing but amazing things to say about her and he was not wrong.”
Kenney continued: “She has such a kind and generous and welcoming energy, which is very special when you’re joining an already established cast to feel like that. So I was very fortunate to have that.”
Happy’s Place airs on NBC Fridays at 8 p.m. ET.
