What I've Binged: SHAMELESS

My first binge show was "Battlestar Galatica" before Netflix offered streaming. I was on the 3 DVD plan and that was crucial. I fell deeply and passionately into that world and was like a fiend whenever the mail came. It wasn’t my best summer and the show was a balm and replacement for so much in my life at the time. Since then there have been many binges for varying reasons these are their stories.

A year or two ago I started watching the UK version of "Shameless" but never got past 2 or 3 episodes.  Probably started watching for the young James McAvoy, he's grown up so nicely!  I'd heard that the US version was great and knew that everyone loved Emmy Rossum but I'd never seen it.  Cut to me two weeks ago unable to go back to sleep at 4am.  Sure, I could've meditated or exercise or just watched IG stories, but I have Netflix.  There are 7 seasons of Shameless available on Netflix, I've watched them all. I'm invested.

The Gallagher clan are mad wild.  For the uninitiated "Shameless" focuses on a family living on the south side of Chicago, the father is an alcoholic, the mother is MIA, and the oldest daughter is raising her 4 brothers and sister.  They hustle, work and steal to get what they need to survive.  

One of my first thoughts was - DICKS! Full frontal male nudity is shown and I'm here for it.  Beyond my joy of seeing equal opportunity nudity this show is funny, emotional, and exhilarating.  They tackle poverty, mental illness, sexuality, addiction, class, and throw in the threat of gentrification. 
Yes, William H. Macy is a fantastic and accomplished actor, I expect nothing but the best from him.   I wasn't as familiar with Emmy Rossum and I've been missing out.  She is a force.  Rossum is a combination of forceful and vulnerable and always seems on the edge of tears.  And she's not afraid of her sexuality.  That may be a problem for her character but Rossum handles it deftly.  

The rest of the cast aren't bad either. Jeremy Allen White, who plays Lip, a genius with a chip on his shoulder, is captivating.  Lip has potential but is burdened with what his gifts mean for him and his family.  White's gives a charming and heartbreaking performances, particularly when his character is in college and he gets involved with a professor. 

Did I mention that the youngest Gallagher is black? Initially they suspect that Monica, the mom, my have had an affair, but there's a DNA test and the kid is definitely Frank's.   I'm still not sold on this 100%, but they are doing some interesting storylines around this in the current season.  The other kids are interesting too, there's Ian, a ginger, who is gay and bi-polar. Debbie, who is desperate to have love in her life and winds up being a teen mom.  And Carl, becomes a corner boy, goes to juvenile detention and then turns his life around and ends up in military school.  Even when they are trying their best a lot of their activities are illegal. And yet, I wasn't put off with them.

Over the course of seven seasons there were some plot lines that I just didn't get, half-sister Sammy and her antics. But overall even the secondary characters have fun plotlines. Kevin and V, their neighbors and friends have done cam work, been in a polyamorous relationship and run a breast milk operation, on top of running a bar and occasionally selling weed out of an ice-cream truck. 
All in all there's a lot going on in this show and I loved it.

This show is perfect if you're sick, snowed in or want to escape into someone else's madness.

What have you binged?