Andrew Robinson
*I will avoid spoilers in the article, and will mark sections/videos that have spoilers. Also, considering the fact that the article is centered around Shameless’ edginess, adult content/language will come up in the article and attached videos, but I will stay away from nudity.
Background
Shameless, which has aired on Showtime since 2011 and finished its eighth season in January, doesn’t shy away from anything. Nearly everything one could think of – including an absent, pathological liar of a father who uses his children only for his own gain, gangs, casual teenage/preteen drinking, teenage alcoholism, suicide attempts, disposing of dead bodies, drug use and abuse, sexual promiscuity amongst teenagers, school bullying, teen pregnancy, a relationship between a minor and adult, a character adopting the role of “gay Jesus,” a father forcing a young character to pretend to have cancer for financial gain, and even a false accusation of child molestation for monetary gain, along with much more – is present in Showtime’s longest-running original series ever. Oh, and Shameless is a comedy that follows the very characters that are committing the acts described above.
Deriving from the British television series of the same name (which aired from 2004-2013), the American version is even edgier than its predecessor. The show follows the Gallaghers, an impoverished family living in Chicago. Their “family,” however, features one perennially-absent, disinterested parent (Frank Gallagher, played wonderfully by William H. Macy), and one runaway parent (Monica). This forces Fiona (portrayed by the severely-underrated Emmy Rossum), the eldest of the children who is in her early twenties, to care for her five siblings, which include high-school-aged Lip and Ian, preteens Carl and Debbie, and baby Liam (all ages approximated from season one). The Gallaghers’ neighbors, Kevin and Veronica, also help out with the children and are major characters. Despite being the protagonists of the show, the Gallagher children constantly commit unruly, generally illegal behavior. So, the very people in the show that the audience is supposed to connect with and root for constantly commit both moral and legal wrongs. Watch this trailer (warning: adult content) for season one of the show if you don’t believe me.
Why is Shameless’s Edginess Any Different Than Any Other “Edgy” Show?
What makes Shameless’s edginess most alarming is the fact that the show simply doesn’t seem to have a boundary that it is unwilling to cross. As much as I have enjoyed the show, I readily admit that it goes too far sometimes (an easy example of this is the false child molestation claim for monetary gain storyline). Shameless is unconcerned with offending people, and presents even the most controversial of plotlines in a comedic way… most of the time. I would classify the show as a comedy first, but then a drama – the showrunners do seem to realize that not every single second of a show dealing with as heavy topics as Shameless does can be comedic. However, with this said, they will go to all depths imaginable with their storylines and, as far as I know, have never issued an apology for anything put on the show.
Many shows have utilized controversial plotlines, characters, etc., usually in order to gain notoriety and a larger audience. Television shows such as Game of Thrones, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Twin Peaks, True Blood, Weeds, and The Wire come to mind. What separates Shameless from the pack, however, is just how, well, shameless the show is about it. Include (and arguably glamourize) underage drinking? Check. Include (and arguably glamourize) lying about any and everything in order to better one’s situation? Check. Include (and arguably glamourize) sexual promiscuity amongst teenagers? Check. Include explicit scenes of drug use, and make lovable characters succumb to very powerful, harmful drugs? Check and check. Include storylines that make very flawed characters into heroes? Check. Include nearly anything one can think of story-wise and character-wise that can be labeled controversial? Check.
What is most notable, however, is the fact that Shameless is unapologetically humorous about nearly everything I have mentioned thus far. Outside of the suicide attempts throughout the series (some of which make for some of the most heartbreaking scenes imaginable), humor is found in nearly every circumstance the characters find themselves caught up in. This is both impressive and incredibly edgy – I keep coming back to it, but how the heck is falsely accusing someone of child molestation solely for one’s own gain humorous? Shameless manages to have its characters laugh about – and even applaud – such circumstances as this. While I certainly don’t agree with all of the humor present in the show – and I would never even think about doing 99% of what the main characters do throughout the series – that very humor found in the preposterous situations that the Gallaghers place themselves in is what makes Shameless the edgiest television show in American history.
Finally, as I briefly mentioned earlier, Shameless makes the Gallaghers (outside of Frank, for the most part) entirely lovable and easy to root for. This is remarkably edgy, considering the immoral and illegal acts that these characters commit every episode, without fail. Many “edgy” television shows establish the fact that what those characters (whether main, supporting, or one-offs) do is, in fact, wrong. Shameless, however, challenges this idea, instead seeming to attempt to make the characters’ actions justifiable (though it is incredibly rare for the characters’ actions to truly be justifiable). The very fact that the audience finds themselves rooting for these characters that are so clearly committing horrible wrongs speaks to the desire expressed by the show to be as edgy as possible.
Shameless May Be Edgy, But is it Actually Good Television?
When a show is edgy, one main question arise: is it edgy just for the sake of being edgy, or is the show actually good?
After seeing all eight seasons and awaiting the ninth, I have reached the conclusion that the show is also really good, despite its perpetual edginess and what-the-heck-did-I-just-watch nature. Scenes such as this (minor spoiler, but not awful) show just how well-acted, well-written the show was in its peak.
However, I do say “at its peak” for a reason. Seasons 1-4 are incredible; despite the crazy storylines, terrible “role models,” and the show’s penchant for pushing an MA rating as far as it can possibly go, those first few seasons are masterpieces. Seasons 5-6 definitely go downhill some, but the quality is still present in many episodes. By the seventh and eighth seasons, however, the edginess does, at many times, seem to be less quality, and more simply for the sake of being edgy. The storylines become even less believable and much more racy. While the acting is still stellar and the show is still enjoyable, the last few seasons have been nowhere near as engaging as the first few, and the edgy nature of the show has seemed to be solely in the name of being edgy as the seasons have progressed.
Still, Shameless is a good watch for an 18+ crowd that is not easily scarred by perpetual edginess, and wishes to see just how far Showtime will let a show go (spoiler alert: Shameless seems to be able to go wherever the heck it wants to go).
Wrap-Up
Shameless is, by far, the edgiest show I have ever seen, and I would venture to say that it is the edgiest show in American television history. Whether it be through outrageously edgy storylines, likable characters committing every moral and illegal wrong in the book, or simply the fact that so much humor is expressed through these scenes and storylines, Shameless is unrivaled in the edgy department. I have thoroughly enjoyed much of the show, despite the fact that the remarkable writing of the first few seasons is harder to find in later seasons.
9/10, but only for a specific viewer that is willing to see some crazy stuff going on, and has the ability to remain uncorrupted by the humor found in remarkably edgy situations.
