Season 1 of ‘Shameless’ Shows What #Winning is All About

So many great new shows this season, so little time. After watching the first season of Showtime’s ‘Shameless’, I can easily say it did not disappoint. Adapted from the UK series by the same title, this show is witty, raw, and perhaps, universally relatable. William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum, lead a large cast of characters, personifying the struggle of a family trying to stay afloat while living at the poverty line, and relying on each other to overcome frequent obstacles. Their scramble to afford groceries, keep the utilities from being shut off, and avoid trouble in a rough neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, is reminiscent of a modern-day ‘Roseanne’. Each episode features one of the character’s introducing the recap, and as they often say, here’s what you missed:

Single “father” and unapologetic alcoholic, Frank Gallagher does everything he can to avoid any type of responsibility as he blunders in and out of the lives of his six children, who have learned to be savvy and self-reliant. Fiona, the eldest, has to try and intercept Frank’s erratic, and selfish behavior and provide for the others, all while getting involved with a man who steals cars for a living, and isn’t who he says he is. Eldest son Philip (Lip), takes SAT tests for money, exchanges tutor sessions for oral sex, and when he tries to share the wealth with younger brother Ian, Ian reveals that he is gay. Ian has a fake girlfriend, has regular sex with his married boss in the store where they work, and eventually doubles back, and starts a relationship with his fake girlfriend's, brother, who his boss shoots when he finds out, all just before Ian learns Frank is not his father.

The younger children, mostly left to their own devices, find unique ways to entertain themselves, Debbie borrowing a baby for an afternoon, and stalking Fiona’s boyfriend, and Carl’s increasingly disturbing and violent behaviors. They all care for youngest, toddler Liam, who looks black, but is proven biologically Frank’s, uncovering a humorous family secret about Nana Gallagher. And most of this happens before Monica Gallagher, estranged mother of the kids arrives with her new girlfriend, set on taking away baby Liam.

All of that is just a drop in the bucket. So much content is crammed into one season, that it never drags or lulls, no time is wasted. This show makes brilliant use of writing for a large cast, as well as giving plenty of scenes to secondary characters and their storylines. Neighbors Kevin and Veronica, are so wrapped up in the lives of the Gallagher’s that they’re practically surrogate members, even expanding on that by taking in a foster child, a 13-year-old mother from a polygamist cult. Frank and Lip are both uncomfortably involved with the Jackson family, who have their own bizarre problems ranging from Agoraphobia, to unusual sexual fetishes, to issues with clowns.

This series is gritty, funny, smart, and at times, even almost overwhelming, with the sheer level of madness they face on a daily basis, usually because of something Frank caused. The level of believability and realism is something that is rarely achieved on television these days, and has to have the backing of a network like Showtime in order to provide that sense of reality. I was hooked from the first episode, and can easily recommend it to new viewers. So it comes as no surprise it’s going to return next year with all-new episodes. There’s just one problem…waiting a year for it’s return.