Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Propelled by successfully watching Josh Thomas and his family in Please Like Me, I thought it was time to nut up and meet the Gallaghers of John Wells’ (E.R. and The West Wing) Shameless. Again, too much family, chaos, and codependence had previously made me steer clear, but what the hell, it’s 2020, I’m growing. Fiona is the eldest sibling and dubbed head of the household, Liam is the youngest, Debbie is painfully adolescent, Carl has a penchant for fire and fire arms, Lip is brilliant but also the everyman, and Ian and Mickey are iconic – worth the watch.
While there is the expected fair share of cringe-worthy scams, usually instigated by their alcoholic, often homeless father, Frank Gallagher, they also deliver an empathetic view on gentrification, aging, mental health, and more. For me, shows like this (you know, not on the CW, my preferred mode of entertainment) especially torture when characters make the wrong choices, mistakes that you have to helplessly watch play out. The stories move forward, often with great pain and struggle, but the siblings come together to see each other through the latest fallout, sometimes with literal shovels in hand. I guess that’s how they got me, those damn Gallagher siblings. They aren’t perfect, but you can’t help but love ‘em.
Special shout out to Music Supervisor Ann Kline who cuts deep with indie tracks you’ll want to look up. A few gems to add to your Quarantunes:
Basic Instinct The Acid
Canyons Paw City
Falling Together Mason Brothers
Pink/White Frank Ocean
If you suddenly find yourself with an inexplicable amount of time on your social-distanced hands, I suggest digging into 10 seasons of Shameless. That’s right, 10 seasons. It’s the longest-running original scripted series in Showtime history.
All ten seasons are now available to stream on Hulu with the Showtime add-on. Seasons one through nine are available on Netflix, but season ten is hella-worth the Hulu add-on price.
The eleventh and final season is slated for release in late 2020.