'Shameless' season 8 news: renewal is on a standstill with Emmy Rossum demanding pay increase

There seems to be trouble in "Shameless" as lead star Emmy Rossum is reportedly asking for a pay hike that will put her on par with co-star William H. Macy's salary.

The Hollywood Reporter breaks the story first sharing that multiple tipsters have confirmed to them that the actress is indeed negotiating the terms of her salary moving forward in the series. This in turn has resulted in a standstill in terms of the renewal of the show for an eighth season. As it turns out, Rossum is citing that at this point, her salary needs to be on equal footing with that of Macy who plays the Gallagher patriarch, Frank. The 30-year-old actress, on the other hand, takes on the role of the family's eldest daughter, Fiona, whose part in the narrative has expanded in the seventh outing of the dark comedy.

On top of this, the outlet shares that Rossum is even campaigning to take on a bigger pay increase that will have her check bigger than that of Macy's. As it turns out, she is also trying to collect in the difference in their salaries for years demanding that she gets more per episode to equalize the balance between them.

A couple of years ago, the cast sat down with the show's executives to discuss their respective salaries moving forward. This resulted in a collective significant additional amount on their take-home pays with Macy's still relatively bigger than the rest of the cast. However, the veteran actor is said to have sat down with Warner Bros to ask for another raise which was eventually given to him. Rossum is trying to follow his lead if not going further as talks of a new deal goes down.

While it can be argued that Macy is a far more experienced actor with a couple of critically acclaimed works under his belt, Rossum's character in the show plays a pivotal role in the show. Oftentimes, Fiona has been the main focal point of the show as she tries to figure her life in a dysfunctional family. Just this last season, she even stepped behind the camera to try her hands at directing.

Now that the show is in a unique kind of limbo, it is interesting how Warner Bros. will react in the situation especially when "Shameless" has turned itself as one of the pivotal shows for the company.