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Shameless cast, characters, seasons and episodes

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Shameless TV Series

The revival of television means at this point in time, many television shows are producing similar content. Unfortunately, the lack of originality and the culture of “sure bets” have filled the television airwaves with carbon copies of the same stories; from police procedurals to family dramas to the usual comedies, doubles and sometimes even triplets of stories are always streaming at all times. So when a show comes along and offers something new in a way that hasn’t been overdone on American television, people usually take notice. Showtime TV series – Shameless is one such show, which pleasantly surprised viewers with its unusual plot.

Shameless has been on the air for over eight seasons and currently holds the record for the longest-running original show on the network. Just like The Office and House of Cards, Shameless was inspired by a British series of the same name. The American version, created by John Wells, has been on TV since 2011 and has been incredibly successful.

Shameless can be categorized as both a comedy and a drama, making audiences laugh while reminding viewers of the harsh reality that many families face.

Synopsis

Shameless is a story about Frank Gallagher’s life and his leadership (or lack thereof) as a single father with the responsibility of raising six children. Frank usually abandons his fatherly responsibilities in favor of heavy drinking, which creates mishaps that force the children to grow up quickly and learn to take care of themselves. The children’s upbringing is coordinated by Frank’s eldest daughter, Fiona, who, despite needing to support herself, stands in for the father and mother of her younger siblings. The show explores the effects of alcoholism on family members.

An exceptional quality of the storytelling is that it focuses on a problem that is supposedly non-existent for the majority of people – it shows the life of an underprivileged white family in a middle-class environment, as opposed to trailer parks or communities. Predominantly black. It not only avoids the clichéd depiction of families affected by the parent’s alcoholism, but it also shockingly reminds viewers of the possibilities that exist within their privileged communities.

The show, which first aired on British television, is a semi-autobiographical account of the life of Paul Abbot. He is credited as an executive producer in the American version.

Shameless began development in 2009, originally meant to air on HBO in January 2009 by show developer John Wells. A pilot episode was commissioned and shot in December of the same year.

The cast of the pilot episode William H. Macy as the series’ main character, alcoholic Frank Gallagher. He was joined by Emmy Rossum and Justin Chatwin, who portrayed the eldest daughter, Fiona, and Fiona’s undying interest, Steve Wilton. After the pilot was filmed, Showtime approved the show for production in April 2010.

After getting the green light, the series was set to expand its cast member count and feature the following actors and actresses in various roles.

Cast and characters

The veteran actor plays Frank Gallagher, a chronic alcoholic father of six in Shameless

William H. Macy

William H. Macy

The veteran actor plays Frank Gallagher, a chronic alcoholic father of six. Although he has a degree in psychology, Frank refuses to work and devotes himself to developing ways to defraud the welfare system in which he lives. Although he is the biological father of 6 of the 7 children under his care, their mothers are different due to the fact that Frank is forced to sleep with an available woman. The seventh child in his care, Ian is Frank’s brother’s child.

Frank is disrespected by his children, who generally have no education due to Frank’s lack of work. William H. Macy’s performance on the show earned him numerous major award nominations. He has also won numerous awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.

Emmy Rossum plays the empowering role of Frank Gallagher's eldest daughter, Fiona Gallagher in Shameless

Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum plays the empowering role of Frank Gallagher’s eldest daughter, Fiona Gallagher. Abandoned by both father and mother, Fiona takes on the responsibility of raising her siblings. As a result of raising five younger siblings, she is forced to drop out of high school in her freshman year.

In order to support her siblings and take care of their needs, she takes minimum-wage jobs. Fiona is characterized as a selfless person who watches over others before taking care of herself. Her character’s progression through the series sees her lose this trait due to the lack of appreciation shown by her family members. Like William, Emmy Rossum, the show’s lead actor, is one of the show’s most recognized stars by award-winning bodies. She has been nominated many times by different award organizations, unfortunately, she has not won the award yet.

On Shameless, Jeremy plays Phillip 'Lip' Ronan Gallagher

Jeremy Allen White

On Shameless, Jeremy plays Phillip ‘Lip’ Ronan Gallagher. He is Frank’s most academic child. Among all the children, Lip is one of the closest children to his father, helped him design various money-generating schemes. As in real families where there is often an exceptional child who suffers the tragedy of being part of the delinquent family, Phillip of the Gallagher family is too. Lip is considered a little genius who speaks several languages. However, due to his exposure to Frank’s alcoholism, he himself struggles with alcoholism and bad decisions.

On Shameless, Cameron plays the third child in the Gallagher family, Ian Gallagher

Cameron Monaghan

Cameron plays the third child in the Gallagher family, Ian Gallagher. Although he is not Frank’s biological child, he is considered his child. Ian suffers from bipolar disorder and he is also gay. Due to his bipolar disorder, he exhibits erratic behaviours and eventually ends up in jail.

On Shameless, Emma plays Deborah Jean Gallagher

Emma Kenney

Emma plays Deborah Jean Gallagher, more commonly addressed as Debbie. She portrays Debbie as a reserved, very understanding soul. Of all the Gallagher children, she constantly forgives her father’s neglect and their mother’s absence. Having a more mature mind, Debbie struggles to make friends. As the show progresses, his reserved and mature character gives way to a more reckless life. She embraces sexual promiscuity and eventually gets pregnant and becomes a single mother.

Ethan plays Carl Gallagher, the second youngest Gallagher child

Ethan plays Carl Gallagher, the second youngest Gallagher child

Ethan Cutkosky

Ethan plays Carl Gallagher, the second youngest Gallagher child. Carl is a psychotic young child who loves mutilating toys and killing stray animals. However, unlike the rest of the Gallagher children, his character development goes in the opposite direction, starting off worse and gradually becoming a more responsible and productive human being.

Christian plays Liam Gallagher

Christian Isaiah

Christian plays Liam Gallagher but he wasn’t the only actor to play the role on the show, he is the newest and most notable actor to take on the role. He appears in seasons 8 and 9 of the show.

Liam is an African-American son of Frank Gallagher, believed to result from Frank’s mother’s infidelity with a black man. As the youngest, Liam is rather innocent compared to the other Gallagher siblings.

Another significant cast member is Justin Chatwin, who plays Steve Wilton/Jimmy Lishman, a mobster who falls in love with Fiona Gallagher. Joan Cusack plays Sheila Jackson, a love interest of Frank Gallagher, Steve Howey plays Kevin Ball and Michael Patrick McGill plays Tommy. As a show with an expansive world of differently connected characters, Shameless has a number of guest roles by well-known actors, some of which include Kerry O’Malley, Tyler Jacob Moore, Pej Vahdat, Jane Levy, Courteney Cox, Dermot Mulroney, June Squibb, Katey Sagal, among others.

Shameless – Seasons and Episodes

Twelve episodes of the first season were ordered after the pilot. Since then, the program has maintained its formula of twelve episodes per season, which has allowed it to maintain consistent storytelling.

The first season of the show debuted on January 9, 2011, and over 980,000 viewers watched it. The show’s premiere was the biggest premiere of a show for the network since 2003. It maintained strong viewer interest and ended the first season with an average viewership of 1.18 million viewers per episode.

Shameless was moved to the 9 p.m. Sunday slot (originally airing at 10 p.m. Sundays) for the second season, running through the ninth season. This change helped improve the show’s ratings, averaging 1.36 million viewers since the change. It reached its highest average viewers in the show’s fourth season with 1.71 average viewers. For the ninth season, the network expanded the series to 14 episodes, splitting the season into two. The ninth season premiered on September 9, 2018.

Since its inception, Shameless has been ranked as one of the best shows on television. Its consistent positive critical reception and high viewership have helped it rack up more than 30 nominations for the show and its cast since it aired on television. The show itself has been nominated four times for Best Drama or Comedy Series across various awards.

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