Ain't no shame in this family's game -- the Gallaghers put the fun in dysfunction! Their lives may be a continual calamity, but they always have each other's backs even in the stickiest or most overly complicated situation. Family isn't just a word to them, it's their blood and life, and each family member takes a turn at keeping the others in line or out of trouble. No matter what life may throw at them, there is always one of the Gallagher's stepping up to the plate telling life to serve up its worst so they can knock it down. They say that father knows best, but in a family where the father is anything but one, it seems that phrase epicly falls on some very deaf ears. The Gallagher's face their fears and tribulations dead on, and that's what makes the show Shameless on Showtime a Sunday night fixture and a family affair.
More than likely Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) is most certainly never going to win the Father of the Year Award. Nor would viewers probably ever want to see him change his devious and troubled ways in order to do so. He is a large part of what makes the show Shameless truly so gritty and completely unique. With all of the programs on television promoting a normal, healthy family lifestyle, Shameless side steps that and does the utter direct opposite in many ways, but ultimately regardless of Frank, this family keeps on ticking. Especially due to the constant sacrifice and watchful eye of the eldest family member, Fiona (played by the exquisite Emmy Rossum). Fiona is a firecracker who seems to be teetering on the fine line of maintaining her stoic and driven attitude or letting everything go to hell and really live her own true life. But the trooper she is knows she has so many others depending on her, that even in her wildest streak, she never forgets that family is her heart. Life, or anything for that matter will never come easy for the Galllaghers, but that's the hand they have been dealt and they have learned to capitalize on the luck of the draw.
Season 3 of this working class-centered drama kicked off on January 13 with a major bang! Fans had been waiting with bated breath for the family to provide all of the intensity, adrenaline and humor that devour every single episode. In Season 3 none of that fades away at all, with patriarch Frank waking up in Mexico, sans ID, and having no idea how he even got there -- and possibly worse -- how to get himself out. The eldest Gallagher son Lip, played fiercely by Jeremy Allen White, gets arrested and is forced into doing community service as penance. Fiona scrounges for cash and a way to keep her boyfriend Jimmy's/Steve's (Justin Chatwin) Brazilian drug lord wife out of their life. Ian (Cameron Monaghan) has his hands full juggling the affair he's been having with Jimmy's dad and keeping hot headed Mickey, the neighborhood thug he's been sleeping with, in check. Child services is still breathing down the neck of the Gallaghers and as usual they will all have to band together, including Frank, and get creative to get themselves out of the predicament. Every single family member is a cog in the machine that keeps the family staying afloat.
Every season Shameless gets better and better with its crisp writing, out-of-the-box storylines, fresh characters and stellar acting from a cast that can't be tamed -- helmed by Macy, who makes loathing and loving Frank a constant balance that is utter perfection. Rossum is a beauty -- brash and brazen -- and she does it all with savior faire! Also an incredible standout is Jeremy Allen White who showcases panache and effortless calculation with precise delivery of his lines. He can steal the episode with one well-delivered cut down, quip, or slight action. With so many fantastic characters, you know you'll be able to relate to one if not more of these chameleons. Shanola Hampton is sexy, provocative and sassy! Even the younger stars of Shameless, Emma Rose Kenney and Ethan Cutkosky, turn in performances that will have your jaw dropped and your head in your hands.
It's a low down, dirty shame if you're not tuning into this weekly treat of family malfunctions, exploits, meltdowns and break throughs. There is never a wasted or dull moment with the Gallagher family, and as they say, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it! Powerful and rich performances coupled with deep characters and intense storylines fuel Sunday night episodes of the hit show Shameless. Sunday nights with Shameless and Showtime is your weekly fixture for delicious and sinful dysfunction at its finest, and you will not want to miss out on a single drop of it!