Shameless (UK TV series)



Shameless is a British adult comedy-drama series set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate. Produced by Company Pictures for Channel 4, the series aired from 13 January 2004 to 28 May 2013. The comedy drama, centred on British working class culture, accorded critical acclaim by various sections of the British media, including The Sun newspaper and Newsnight Review on BBC Two. The programme was created and partially written by Paul Abbott, who is also the programme's executive producer. In 2005, the show won "Best Drama Series" at the BAFTA TV Awards and "Best TV Comedy Drama" at the British Comedy Awards. The network Showtime adapted the series into its own American version, which debuted in 2011.

Series 1 (2004)
The first series of Shameless ran from 19 January to 24 February 2004. It consisted of 7 episodes.

The first series chronicled the life of the Gallagher family and their neighbours. David Threlfall was cast as alcoholic father-of-six, Frank Gallagher. Anne-Marie Duff was cast as his eldest daughter and "head" of the family, Fiona. Jody Latham and Gerard Kearns played Gallagher brothers Lip and Ian. Twin brothers Elliott and Luke Tittensor both took on the role of youngster Carl Gallagher, whilst Rebecca Ryan was cast as Debbie Gallagher, and Liam was played by Joseph Furnace (series 1-2) and Johnny Bennett (series 3-8). Other characters included James McAvoy as Fiona's boyfriend Steve McBride. The Gallaghers' next-door neighbours Kev and Veronica, were played by Dean Lennox Kelly and Maxine Peake. Maggie O'Neill played agoraphobic Sheila Jackson, a love interest of Frank. Appearing alongside her were Rebecca Atkinson as her 15 year old wayward daughter Karen and Steve Pemberton appeared in the first two episodes as Karen's god-fearing father Eddie. Two other characters were introduced, local shopkeepers Kash and Yvonne Karib, played by Chris Bisson and Kelli Hollis. The series also debuted future regular cast members, including Jack Deam, as Veronica's arsonist brother Marty Fisher, their mother Carol, played by Marjorie Yates. The local pub landlady Jez, played by Lindsey Dawson. Samantha Siddall appeared in one episode as Mandy Maguire, whilst Anthony Flanagan and Warren Donnelly appeared together as local coppers PC Tony and Stan Waterman.

The "main" storyline during the first series was the romance between Fiona and Steve. However, many other plots took centre stage throughout the series, in particular, the sexual affair between Frank Gallagher and Karen Jackson, who was dating Lip. The storyline ended with a violent showdown between father and son, and Karen absconding from Chatsworth. Other storylines included Ian Gallagher's homosexuality and his affair with shopkeeper Kash, Kev and Veronica's "fake" wedding, Sheila attempting to overcome her agoraphobia and Frank's strained relationship with most of his kids. The series concluded with a "two-part story", which featured the return of the Gallaghers' absent mother Monica, played by Annabelle Apsion, and Frank's growing debts. The series concludes with Frank faking his own death to evade bailiffs and his growing debts and the announcement that Sheila, who had overcome her agoraphobia, was pregnant by Frank.

Series 2 (2005)
The 10-part second series began on 4 January 2005 and concluded on 8 March 2005.

All cast members from the first series reprised their roles, and many recurring characters became regulars, such as Mandy Maguire, Carol Fisher and Marty Fisher. Midway through the series, James McAvoy left his role as Steve McBride. Notably, Tina Malone and Sean Gilder joined the cast as Mimi and Paddy Maguire, who would come to dominate the show in succeeding years. Alice Barry, who had appeared in the Christmas special, joined the cast as Lillian Tyler, whilst Chris Coghill joined the cast as Craig Garland, a new love interest for Fiona, and Gillian Kearney also became a cast members, playing Sue, Craig's estranged wife and a new love interest for Marty. Sally Carman also made her first appearance during this series as Kev's sister, Kelly Ball. In the final episode of the series, Anne-Marie Duff departed the series as Fiona Gallagher, in a plot that saw James McAvoy reprise his role as Steve for the final time.

Series 3 (2006)
The third series began on 3 January 2006 and ended on 21 February 2006. The series was reduced to eight episodes.

The third series was the first series to not feature Fiona or Steve who were both heavily featured in the previous series. This series saw Carl's character, who had a minor role in the first series, and a slightly larger role in the second, expanded. This series also saw the introduction of Nicky Evans as Shane Maguire, who only appeared in one episode, but would become an essential character in later series.

The series kicks off with a New Year's Day special where Debbie convinces everyone Liam has cancer to stop him getting expelled from school but things slowly get out of hand. Monica and Norma Starkey, played by Dystin Johnson, return for one episode this series. Veronica and Kevin unsuccessfully try to have a baby through IVF. Lip and Mandy begin to work on their relationship. Frank and Sheila get married.

Series 4 (2007)
The fourth series, again consisting of 8 episodes, ran between 9 January 2007 until 27 February 2007. It featured the biggest cast change in the show's 9-year run, with many characters from the first three series departing and many new characters introduced to replace them. Most notably, the series saw the introduction of the Maguire family as main characters rather than the antagonists that they were in the early series. From series 4, the Maguires would gradually become the focus of the show during its final years. Alongside Tina Malone (Mimi Maguire), Sean Gilder (Paddy Maguire) and Samantha Siddall (Mandy Maguire), new members of the Maguire family were introduced. Firstly, Ciarán Griffiths took on the role of the homosexual yet homophobic Mickey Maguire. Aaron McCusker joined the cast as murderer Jamie Maguire, the oldest Maguire child who had been in prison for 10 years, whilst Nicky Evans, who appeared in a guest role in series 3, returned on a regular basis as "runt of the litter" Shane Maguire. All the Gallagher family returned, and Annabelle Apsion reprised her role of absentee mother Monica, which led to the exit of Maggie O'Neill as Sheila Jackson. Dystin Johnson as Monica's lesbian lover Norma Starkey also returned as a regular cast member. With the introduction of Aaron McCusker as her new love interest, Rebecca Atkinson, who has played Karen Jackson since the first series, became a more prominent character, having been a recurring character during the second and third series. The Chatsworth police became a regular in the series with Michael Legge and Amanda Ryan portraying young police officers Tom O'Leary and Carrie Rogers, alongside original cast member Warren Donnelly (Stan Waterman).

Series 5 (2008)
The fifth series aired between 1 January 2008 to 15 April 2008. It consisted of 16 episodes, a big expansion from previous series.

Series 6 (2009)
The sixth series began on 27 January and concluded on 5 May 2009. Again, the series consisted of 16 episodes.

The series begins with Debbie's sixteenth birthday and her break-up with Tom. Ian recovers from amnesia, and decides he wants more than his life in Chatsworth has to offer. Monica is going through post-natal depression after the birth of her and Frank's seventh child, Stella. Mickey enrolls in college, and discovers a talent for writing sexy short-stories. Maxine Donnelly, played by Joanna Higson, a spirited young auxiliary nurse, befriends both Carl and Debbie, and moves in with the Gallaghers. A parents' meeting at Liam's primary school affirms that Frank's youngest son is a genius. A rift develops in Jamie and Karen's marriage. Joe Pritchard, captain of the local football team, becomes Mandy's new boyfriend, but soon reveals a secret obsession with Karen. And Paddy's secret dalliance with another women leads to a chain of events that will change the Maguires forever. The tone of series six was noticeably darker than previous series, something which continued into the seventh series.

Series 7 (2010)
The seventh series began on 26 January 2010 and concluded on 4 May 2010. As with series 5 and 6, the seventh series consisted of 16 episodes.

Series 8 (2011)
Unlike any previous series, the eighth series of 22 episodes was split into two halves. The first five episodes were aired consecutively during one week, from 10 January to 14 January 2011, to tie-in with a series-opener story-arc. After this, the series returned to its regular weekly slot, and continued for a further 7 episodes between 18 January to 8 March 2011. After a four-month break, the final 9 episodes of the eighth series began on 30 August 2011 and concluded the series on 25 October 2011.

Series 9 (2012)
The ninth series of Shameless began on 9 January 2012 and concluded on 13 March 2012. The ninth series, originally consisting of 22 episodes, was reduced to 11 episodes, with the remaining 11 being turned into the tenth series. Like 2011, the first two episodes aired on two consecutive nights.

Series 10 (2012)
Series 10, originally planned to be the second half of the ninth series, was reduced from 11 episodes to 10. It aired between 13 September and 1 November 2012. As with the last two series, the first two episodes aired on two consecutive nights.

Series 11 (2013)
The eleventh and final series of Shameless began on 26 February 2013 and concluded the show itself on 28 May 2013. An expansion from the last two series, the eleventh series consisted of 14 episodes. The shows final episode saw the return of several departed characters, mostly consisting of the Gallagher children.

Setting
The Gallagher family reside at 2 Windsor Gardens on the fictional Chatsworth Estate, a deprived council estate in Stretford, Manchester. Originally the show was filmed on location in West Gorton in East Manchester and at the Pie Factory Studios in Salford. After Series 5, the show was filmed at a purpose-built set on the Roundthorn Industrial Estate in South Manchester, on the site of an old Umbro warehouse, and around Wythenshawe and Sale.

Cast
Shameless initially focused on the layabout Frank Gallagher and the lives of his six children, Fiona and boyfriend Steve, Lip, Ian, Carl, Debbie and Liam, and next door neighbours, Kev and Veronica. Later the Maguire family was introduced: Paddy, his wife, Mimi, and their three sons—Jamie, Shane and Mickey—and daughter, Mandy. The Maguires became the focus of the show as the Gallagher children departed. Other characters also become the focus after only starting off as minor characters, such as those from the Karib family.

Critical reception
In April 2005, the programme's first series won the Best Drama Series category at the British Academy Television Awards. It was also nominated for Best British Drama at the National Television Awards 2007, but lost out to Doctor Who. Shameless won an award at the Royal Television Awards Society North West Awards 2007 where it beat Coronation Street to the Best Continuing Drama Award.

In 2011, Owen Jones in his book Chavs criticised the fact that the show portrayed working-class people in a negative light "it fails to address how the characters ended up in their situation, or what impact the destruction of industry has had on working class communities in Manchester".

The programme has been sold overseas, where it airs on channels such as SBS One (Australia), UKTV (New Zealand), Acht (Belgium), I.Sat (Brazil), Showcase (Canada), Virgin 17 (France), Nederland 3 (Netherlands), YLE FST5 (Finland), SIC Radical (Portugal), RTÉ Two (Ireland), BBC America (only aired the first series) and Sundance Channel (United States), yes+ (Israel), I.Sat (Latin America) and Jimmy (Italy).Netflix.

American version
HBO began developing an American version of Shameless after striking a deal with John Wells.

By October 2009, the development had moved to Showtime. John Wells Productions filmed a pilot episode for the cable network in January 2010. It stars William H. Macy in the Frank Gallagher role. Allison Janney was cast as a romantic interest for Frank, but left after taking a job on Matthew Perry's Mr. Sunshine and was unable to be a part of both series. Academy Award nominee Joan Cusack joined the cast as the new Sheila Jackson, along with Emmy Rossum as Frank's sensible and feisty eldest daughter, and Justin Chatwin as a car thief who falls for her. Showtime's Shameless cast also includes Jeremy Allen White, Cameron Monaghan, Emma Kenney, Ethan Cutkosky, Noel Fisher, Steve Howey and Shanola Hampton. The first episode of the series aired on Showtime on 9 January 2011.