Shameless is an American television drama series that airs on Showtime on Sundays at 10 pm/9 pm Central. It is based on the award-winning British series of the same name broadcast on Channel 4 and just like the original, was created by Paul Abbott. The series is set in Chicago's South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood. The series premiered on January 9, 2011. The show was renewed for a second season in February, 2011 and began airing almost a year later on 8 January, 2012. A third season was announced on February 1, 2012. Production will begin sometime in 2012.

Premise

The series follows the dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a single father of six children. While he spends his days drunk, his kids learn to take care of themselves.

The show's producers sought to distinguish it from previous American working-class shows by highlighting the effects that Frank's alcoholism has on the family. Paul Abbott, creator of the original, said, "It's not My Name Is Earl or Roseanne. It's got a much graver level of poverty attached to it. It's not blue collar; it's no collar." When John Wells, the showrunner, began pitching the show, he had to fight efforts to place the show in the South or in a trailer park—comedic clichés. He explained, "We have a comedic tradition of making fun of the people in those worlds. The reality is that these people aren't 'the other' — they're people who live four blocks down from you and two blocks over."

Seasons

• Season 1
• Season 2
• Season 3 (Upcoming)

Cast

Main cast

• William H. Macy - Frank Gallagher
• Emmy Rossum - Fiona Gallagher
• Justin Chatwin - Steve / Jimmy Lishman
• Cameron Monaghan - Ian Gallagher
• Jeremy Allen White - Phillip "Lip" Gallagher
• Shanola Hampton - Veronica Fisher
• Steve Howey - Kevin "Kev" Ball
• Ethan Cutkosky - Carl Gallagher
• Emma Kenney - Debbie Gallagher
• Laura Slade Wiggins - Karen Jackson
• Joan Cusack - Sheila Jackson

Recurring cast

• Pej Vahdat - Kash
• Brennan Kane Johnson & Blake Alexander Johnson - Liam Gallagher
• Tyler Jacob Moore - Tony Markovitch
• Joel Murray - Eddie Jackson
• Jane Levy (first season); Emma Greenwell - Mandy Milkovich
• Madison Davenport - Ethel
• Marguerite Moreau - Linda
• Noel Fisher - Mickey Milkovich
• Chloe Webb - Monica Gallagher
• Carlease Burke - Roberta

Development and production

HBO began developing an American version of Shameless after striking a deal with John Wells in January 2009. By October 2009, the development had moved to Showtime. John Wells Productions filmed a pilot episode for the cable network in December 2009. William H. Macy stars in the lead role as Frank Gallagher. Also joining the cast were Emmy Rossum as Fiona, and Justin Chatwin as Steve. Paul Abbott, whose semi-autobiographical telescript became the pilot episode for the original UK version, is credited as an executive producer on the US version.

In April 2010, Showtime green-lit the series with a twelve-episode order. In late August, Joan Cusack was cast as Sheila, a romantic interest for Frank, replacing Allison Janney, who portrayed the role in the pilot. Production began in mid-September.

A preview of the pilot aired on December 12, 2010, after the season 5 finale of Dexter. The first season officially began airing on Showtime on Sunday, January 9, 2011.[1]

Reception

Ratings

The first episode of the series, "Pilot," was watched by 982,000 viewers, which makes it the network's biggest turnout for a series premiere since Dead Like Me in 2003. The episode airing January 30, "Casey Casden," received 1.45 million total viewers, making Shameless the best performing first-year drama on Showtime.

Reviews

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter said that "Shameless is excellent, compelling television from the first moment. As long as it stays true to the roots of the original, it's going to be essential viewing." The show's average score on Metacritic is a 66, which is a generally favorable review. Tom O'Neill of the Los Angeles Times acknowledged the Emmy buzz around Shameless, especially the performance of Emmy Rossum, stating "she didn't have much Emmy buzz after "Shameless" debuted in January, but that has changed over the past few weeks after she gave powerhouse turns in recent episodes such as "But at Last Came a Knock."

Notes

• The Theme Tune of the show is "The Luck You Got" by The High Strung

Links

• Showtime's Official Shameless Site
• Shameless on the Internet Movie Database

Infomation taken from Wikipedia