Showtime television has had a long, fortunate history of producing Emmy winning series. In 2010, Showtime won more Emmys for original series than any other cable station with brilliant shows like “Weeds,” “Dexter,” and “Nurse Jackie”. Newest to Showtime’s roster of unforgettable television is the series “Shameless,” and, as expected, it is as brilliantly written, contrived, directed and acted as any other of the channels’ big hitters.
Shameless is about the Gallaghers, an atypical family living in impoverished America. After their mother left, the family is stranded with their deadbeat, drunk father, Frank (played by William H. Macy). Without a stable parental figure, the motley bunch of Gallagher children, ranging from ages 2 to 21, must take it upon themselves to maintain the house, pay the bills, and keep each other safe. Every episode follows each of the seven family members through their day-to-day lives filled with romance, sex, drugs, violence, secrets and crime.
Set in the poverty-stricken suburbs of Chicago, “Shameless” creates most of its plot from the desperate actions residents must take to survive. As the title implies, this means a common theme of shameless decisions for the Gallaghers. Stealing, lying and cheating are common, accurately depicting the extremes of the American poor while making the show ridiculously entertaining at every immoral turn. The audience will no doubt enjoy Frank’s drunken exploits, Steve’s car stealing hobby, and the children’s shameless private lives. The story moves along a bit slowly at the start of season one, developing characters and their struggles. All the characters that are introduced within the first few episodes makes the show feel muddled and confusing at the start. However, it gets more interesting by the end of the first season as the family members’ separate stories intertwine, tensions burst, and the best and worst of the show’s dynamic personalities are brought out.
Because the show is motivated largely on character development, Shameless would be doomed to fail without tremendous acting skills present. From the veteran acting skills of co-star William H. Macy, to the raw talent of the youngest actors of the Ghallagers, tremendous skill is present. Emmy Rosum, who plays Fiona, is sure to receive an Emmy (no pun intended) for her dynamic role as the oldest daughter and maternal figure of the Gallagher family. The Oldest son, “Lip” also gives a tremendous performance as a teen genius who continuously finds trouble with authority.
The directing of Shameless is, like any other Showtime series, dazzling. The show’s director captures the tense lives of the Gallaghers with frantic zooms and quick, choppy cuts. Though the style seems off putting at first, it shines during the most “shameless” scenes of the episodes and only does justice to the script’s edgy tone.
Outrageous, sentimental, and hilarious―Season one of “Shameless” proves to be a memorable experience. Very few other shows have accomplished such complex characters and story-lines as this show has in just twelve episodes. The show may not be perfect―the beginning episodes grow monotonous at times―but for the most part, it provides a very entertaining journey with twists, thick plots, hilarity, drama, heart and a spectacular cast to back it all up. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll be eagerly awaiting season two, guaranteed.
