The new year has arrived, and with a new year comes a new television schedule filled with shows that fans have been anxiously awaiting to premiere. One of these highly anticipated shows that has returned with the turning of the calender is Showtime’s hit comedy-drama Shameless. Shameless, which kicked off its fourth season on January 12, is about the daily exploits of a family of six children (the Gallagher’s) who live in a poverty-stricken Chicago neighborhood. The Gallagher kids live with no parental supervision, as their mother ran off and their deadbeat father, who is a drug addict and alcoholic, only comes around when he is in need of money or a place to stay. Thus, it is up to the kids to find enough money to pay their bills and keep a roof over their heads. In order to pay the bills, the Gallagher’s steal, lie, cheat, commit crimes and do whatever else is necessary to keep the family together.

This season kicked off with many of the old faces gone—at least for now—and many characters experiencing major changes in their lives. Fiona, the oldest of the Gallagher children, now has a full time white collared job and a new boyfriend; Lip, the second oldest, is adjusting to college life where he is struggling to fit in; while Debbie and Carl, the fourth and fifth children, are in the beginning stages of puberty and with it are gaining more prominent roles on the show. Yet, perhaps the most entertaining change of all is watching Frank, the Gallagher’s deadbeat father, have to deal with the repercussions of all his years of alcohol abuse. Frank has finally destroyed his liver and is in need of a new one to survive, yet (to no surprise) this does not stop him from taking drugs and finding strange ways to get alcohol into his body as his body physically will not let him drink alcohol anymore.

Per usual, actor William H. Macy has been fantastic in his role as Frank so far, and somehow continues to perfectly portray a character who should be extremely unlikeable from a moral standpoint as a fan favorite and an underdog that one cannot help but root for to come out on top. It is a shame that Macy has yet to be recognized by Hollywood with a nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series, as he has truly been fantastic. However, while Macy often steals the spotlight, the rest of the cast is incredible as well, especially considering the young age of many of the actors. With such a great ensemble (plus wonderful writing and producing), is not hard to see why Shameless has been such a hit with viewers since its inception in 2011.