Shameless (British TV series)
Shameless is a British comedy drama television programme created and executive produced by Paul Abbott. Set in Manchester on the fictional Chatsworth council estate, the show revolves around the dysfunctional working-class Gallagher family (Frank, Fiona, Lip, Ian, Carl, Debbie, and Liam), depicting and commenting on English working-class life and culture.
Produced by
Plot
Series 1 (2004)
The first series of Shameless ran from 13 January to 24 February 2004, and consisted of seven episodes. It chronicled the life of the Gallagher family and their neighbours.
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 affair between Frank Gallagher and Karen Jackson, despite Karen dating Lip and Frank being in a relationship with Karen's mother, Sheila. The storyline ended with a violent showdown between Lip and Frank, 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, featuring 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 second series ran from 4 January to 8 March 2005. It consisted of ten regular episodes and a Christmas Special (which aired on 23 December 2004).
Series 3 (2006)
The third series began on 10 January and ended on 21 February 2006. The series was reduced to eight episodes.
The third series did 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
The series begins 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 her lover Norma Starkey, played by Dystin Johnson, return for one episode this series. Kev and Veronica unsuccessfully trying for a baby through IVF, Mandy giving birth to Lip's baby, and Frank and Sheila getting married are all storylines covered in the third series.
Series 4 (2007)
The fourth series, again consisting of eight episodes, ran between 9 January until 27 February 2007. It featured the biggest cast change in the show's nine-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
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 12 May 2009. Again, the series consisted of 16 episodes.
The series begins with Debbie's 16th birthday. Ian recovers from
Series 7 (2010)
The seventh series began on 26 January 2010 and concluded on 11 May 2010. As with series 5 and 6, the seventh series consisted of 16 episodes.
Series 7 saw the arrivals of Libby Croker, played by Pauline McLynn, the next serious love interest for Frank, and her battleaxe mother, Patty, who uses a wheelchair, with Valerie Lilley taking on the role. This series also introduced Maxine's brother Bruce, who would only appear during this series. Also to arrive in Series 7 was Billy Tutton (Michael Taylor), a new love interest for Mimi, who would return as a regular in the following series. Sean Gilder left his role as Paddy Maguire towards the end of Series 7, with Warren Donnelly, Joanna Higson, Gerard Kearns and Ben Batt also leaving their roles as Stan Waterman, Maxine Donnelly, Ian Gallagher and Joe Pritchard. Kelli Hollis also left her role as Yvonne Karib, however she would return in the final series. In the series finale, Mimi surprisingly gave birth to baby Cilla, a storyline which would continue into the eighth series. Karen's bipolar disorder and her affair with Joe, Carl and Chesney being on the run for murder, and the wedding of Shane and Kelly are all prominent storylines to feature in the seventh series.
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 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 8 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 8 saw a variety of new characters arrive, including the Powell family, consisting of Emmanuel Ighodaro as Jackson, Karen Bryson as Jackson's wife Avril, and Kira Martin as their daughter Letitia. Also, Libby and Patty's relative, Aidan Croker, played by Robbie Conway, arrived to fill the hole left by Liam, following his departure in the early episodes of the series. Billy Tutton returned and is revealed as the father of Mimi's baby, Cilla, while Aysha Kala took on the role of Chesney's cousin, Sita Desai, however the character departed midway through the series. Annabelle Apsion reprised her role as Monica Gallagher for the early episodes of the series, to coincide with a storyline featuring Frank and Libby and the departure of Liam. Also departing this series was Libby, who left after realizing that Frank shows her no affection. Samantha Siddall returned as an apparition of her deceased character Mandy, who appeared as a vision to Mimi when she suffered from insomnia during this series. This series also saw the return of Jack Deam as Marty Fisher as a regular cast member, who left the show in Series 4. When Frank finds himself being framed for brutally mugging a pensioner, Kev Ball, who left the show in Series 4, returned to help, with Dean Lennox Kelly reprising the role for a single episode to mark Shameless's 100th episode.
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.
The ninth series primarily featured the arrivals of
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.
The final episode of the tenth series saw three prominent characters depart: Emmanuel Ighodaro left his role as Jackson Powell when he and Avril's mounting debts and fractured marriage become too much, Kari Corbett's character Ruby Hepburn was killed off when she took Mimi hostage which resulted in her falling out of a window to her death, and Valerie Lilley made her exit as Patty Croker, when she was told that she was dying and wanted Frank to take her to the beach to see Ireland one last time, however Frank left her to go to the pub, allowing the tide to take her away. Jamie continued his affair with Gloria in Series 10, however this stopped following a pregnancy scare, and eventually Karen discovers his deceit. Shane accidentally killed a man after running him over in a hit-and-run, and battled his conscience as he began helping the man's family through their grief.
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 show's final episode saw the return of several departed characters, mostly consisting of the Gallagher children.
During the eleventh series, all characters made their final appearances, however only certain characters made exits from Chatsworth. These include Sally Carman as Kelly Maguire, Jack Deam as Marty Fisher, Angeline Ball as Gloria Meak and Stephen Lord as Dominic Meak. A variety of new characters made their first appearances in the final series, including Jacqueline Boatswain as Avril's older sister Patreesha St. Rose and her daughter Mary-Mae, who would begin a relationship with Chesney. Also, Moya Brady – who played The Jockey's former landlady Cassie Western in Series 2 – returned playing Remona, who opened a pharmacy in Chesney's shop. A new family, the Blancos, arrived consisting of Kassi, played by Jalaal Hartley, Esther, portrayed by Isy Suttie, and their three children: Tam (Rhys Cadman), Thalia (Jade Kilduff) and Saul (Lewis Hardaker). Also, Sherilee and Derilee, played by Sarah Totty and Sue Vincent, appeared for a number of episodes as Frank's new prostitutes.
Most notably, the role of Stella Gallagher was recast, with Nikita Brownlee playing the character. The final ever episode saw numerous old cast members return, including Annabelle Apsion as Monica Gallagher, Anne-Marie Duff as Fiona McBride, Jody Latham as Lip Gallagher, Elliott Tittensor as Carl Gallagher, Dean Lennox Kelly as Kev Ball and Kelli Hollis as Yvonne Karib. Storylines covered in the final series included Jamie discovering that Paddy is not his biological father, and finding his new half-brother Kassi and his family; Frank's dalliance with prostitutes Sherilee and Derilee, with a hostage situation occurring at the Gallagher household when Derilee's husband Baxter finds out; Shane's brief relationship with a copper, Sgt. Randall (Thaila Zucchi), putting a strain on his relationship with his family; Mimi starting work at a primary school as a governor; and the breakdown of Kelly and Lillian's friendship after Kelly and Marty steal a large amount of money from her.
Setting
The Gallagher family resides at 2 Windsor Gardens on the fictional Chatsworth Estate, a deprived council estate in
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
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.[3]
The programme has been sold overseas, where it airs on channels such as
American version
By October 2009, the development had moved to
Turkish version
On 14 September 2017,
Russian version
On 24 September 2017, NTV began airing a Russian Adaption titled Besstydniki , Russian for Shameless.[8]
References
- ^ "All hail the rise of the reasonably competent TV heroine". Toronto Star, 5 November 2016, Sophie Van Bastelaer.
- ^ "New home for soap stars of Shameless". 18 April 2010.
- ^ "Awards for Wilson at RTS". Manchester Evening News. 18 November 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "SBS Episode Guide: Shameless". SBS Online. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (5 January 2009). "HBO cues up US version of Shameless". guardian.co.uk. London: Guardian News and Media.
- ^ "Showtime greenlights Shameless pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- Sky.com. Archived from the originalon 18 December 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- ^ Besstydniki, Konstantin Davydov, Viktoriya Zabolotnaya, Galina Petrova, retrieved 13 March 2018
{{citation}}
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- Johnson BL. 2012. 'Shameless: Situating Sex Beyond the City' in 'Television, Sex and Society: Analyzing Contemporary Representations'. Johnson B, Aston J, Glynn B (Eds.). London and New York: Continuum.
Further reading
- Beth Johnson & Laura Minor (2019) "Shameless Television: Gendering Transnational Narratives". Feminist Media Studies. 19.3 (2019): 364–379.
- Beth Johnson (2016) Mapping Cinematic Norths, 'Council Estates, Culture and 'Shameless' Spaces', pp. 44–57. London: Peter Lang
- Beth Johnson (2012) Television, Sex and Society: Analyzing Contemporary Representations, 'Shameless: Situating Sex Beyond the City', pp. 3–16. Continuum Press: London & New York.
- Beth Johnson (2013) Paul Abbott, 'Shameless', pp. 108–128. Manchester University Press: Manchester.
- Beth Johnson (2013) Television: Aesthetics and Style, The Fantastic Style of Shameless, pp. 227–237. London and New York: Bloomsbury Press.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-4921-2.
- Walters, James (2006). "Saving Face: Inflections of Character Role-play in Shameless" (PDF). Journal of British Cinema and Television. 3 (1). Edinburgh University Press: 95–106. S2CID 143913249.
External links
- Shameless at IMDb
- Shameless on Channel 4
- Shameless at British Comedy Guide