Shameless (2011– )

An alcoholic man lives in a perpetual stupor while his six children with whom he lives cope as best they can.

Creator:

Paul Abbott

Stars:

William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Justin Chatwin

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
William H. Macy	...	Frank Gallagher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Emmy Rossum	...	Fiona Gallagher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Justin Chatwin	...	Steve (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Ethan Cutkosky	...	Carl Gallagher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Shanola Hampton	...	Veronica Fisher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Steve Howey	...	Kevin Ball (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Emma Kenney	...	Debbie Gallagher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Cameron Monaghan	...	Ian Gallagher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Jeremy Allen White	...	Lip Gallagher (36 episodes, 2011-2013)
Joan Cusack	...	Sheila Jackson (33 episodes, 2011-2013)
Laura Wiggins	...	Karen Jackson (30 episodes, 2011-2013)
Zach McGowan	...	Jody Silverman (24 episodes, 2012-2013)
Emma Greenwell	...	Mandy Milkovich (20 episodes, 2012-2013)
Michael Patrick McGill	...	Tommy (19 episodes, 2011-2013)
Noel Fisher	...	Mickey Milkovich (18 episodes, 2011-2013)

Storyline

Meet the fabulously dysfunctional Gallagher family. Dad's a drunk, Mom split long ago, eldest daughter Fiona tries to hold the family together. Eldest son Philip (Lip) trades his physics tutoring skills for sexual favors from neighborhood girls. Middle son Ian is gay. Youngest daughter Debbie is stealing money from her UNICEF collection. Ten-year-old Carl is a budding sociopath and an arsonist, and toddler Liam is - well, he might actually be black, but nobody has a clue how.

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Plot Keywords:

alcoholic | irresponsible father | female nudity | gay brother | brother sister relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Besramnici

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bonanza Productions, John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite being in almost every episode since season one, Joan Cusack is still listed as a "special guest star" in the opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.77 (2013)

User Reviews

A triumph of American television

I've grown up with the original Shameless. It's a fast paced Comedy-Drama like no other, in that it lends itself perfectly to both without apology or hesitation.

Whereas the British original finds it's characters living, fornicating, screaming and jumping in the revelry of zero-expectation in a rigid class system, the American remake masterfully equivocates the triumphs and the tribulations of a lower class family existing on the edge of acceptability at the heart of society in a flawless, delicate and shameless manner.

The pilot introduces the characters, much like their British counterparts, not in an effort to garner their sympathy but simply as a statement of fact. The aspiring teen marine struggling to hide his homosexuality only fears losing the love of his brother, the absent drunk dad who loves his children but through the haze becomes a heckling prophet - a Shakespearean fool who sees through the thin veil of sanity and order, a young woman struggling to keep the family together seeing a way out through a handsome highwayman. These people are not bad even if they do bad things. Society has forgot about them and for that they couldn't care less for it.

The whole cast is tremendous but William H. Macy rises to the occasion with the father, a Frank Gallagher straight out of a bar in Memphis at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday, last orders, don't interrupt him because he hasn't finished yet, he's got to tell you what's wrong with the world before he wakes up and it all ends. You would believe this guy was a war vet or something with the confidence and delirium at which he pontificates.

No matter what your race or background you can take something away from Shameless. Most television that likes to call itself Comedy, Drama, or both, tends towards a particular demographic, offering an escape fantasy for, say, the 'off-beat' teens in Glee or the sexually deviant young adults in True Blood or the repressed housewives in that show about the repressed housewives.

As the designated guardian's new boyfriend takes a seat at the head of the table, he pushes Frank's legs aside as he crashes drunk on the floor. Shameless doesn't escape anything, it lives in the world it is given and every so often reminds you, during those joyously chaotic scenes, that the sweetest lemonade is almost bitter, so it's just as well every episode is only an hour for you to laugh, cry and enjoy.

Moments of anarchic jubilation inter lap, run over and sometimes juxtapose flourishes of near-the-bone reality, served eloquently on a fresh platter to which America needs to to have the stomach for.