Shameless


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About

From Wikipedia:

Shameless is an American comedy-drama television series which airs on Showtime. This remake of the British series is set in Chicago, although filmed in Los Angeles, with the exterior scenes filmed in Chicago.

The series depicts the dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a single father of six children. While he spends his days drunk, his kids learn to take care of themselves.

The show's producers sought to distinguish it from previous American working-class shows by highlighting how Frank's alcoholism affects his family. Paul Abbott, the show's creator, said, "It's not My Name Is Earl or Roseanne. It's got a much graver level of poverty attached to it. It's not blue collar; it's no collar." When John Wells, the showrunner, began pitching the show, he had to fight efforts to place the show in the South or in a trailer park. He explained, "We have a comedic tradition of making fun of the people in those worlds. The reality is that these people aren't 'the other' – they're people who live four blocks down from you and two blocks over."

Highlights
John Wells on executive producing Shameless starring William H. Macy
John Wells on balancing the drama and the comedy on Shameless
Who talked about this show

Dr. John Leverence

View Interview
Dr. John Leverence on Emmys category classifications and changes, such as with the program Shameless which had elements of both comedy and drama categories, and how the show's producers appealed to change the classification to a comedy

Felicity Huffman

View Interview
Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy on what it's like to see their real-life spouse acting in love scenes, particularly when Macy's character on Shameless was in love

William H. Macy

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William H. Macy on working with showrunner John Wells on Shameless
William H. Macy on what Shameless is about and how it depicts sex (as well as his personal objections to the unrealistic way violence is depicted on television)
William H. Macy on handling some of the shocking scenes that he has had to perform on Shameless
William H. Macy on his Shameless character, "Frank Gallagher" falling in love in season 5
William H. Macy on playing his Shameless character, "Frank Gallagher," as sober after many seasons of his character being frequently drunk
William H. Macy on the original British version of Shameless and meeting David Threlfall, who played "Frank Gallagher" on the British version
William H. Macy on the Shameless episode, "Can I Have a Mother," which he wrote with Steven Schachter
William H. Macy on the Shameless episode, "Can I Have a Mother," which he wrote with Steven Schachter, and his character, "Frank Gallagher's" mother appearing on that episode
William H. Macy on directing the season 5 episode of Shameless, "Tell Me You F**king Need Me"
William H. Macy on his hopes for the then-upcoming seventh season of Shameless
William H. Macy on what his expectations were for the series when he first signed on to Shameless, and how he reads scripts to see if he's interested in them

John Wells

View Interview
John Wells on executive producing Shameless starring William H. Macy
John Wells on balancing the drama and the comedy on Shameless
John Wells on adapting Shameless from the original British series
John Wells on William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum as "Frank Gallagher" and "Fiona Gallagher" on Shameless
John Wells on having the characters break the fourth wall on Shameless
John Wells on season six of Shameless and notes from Showtime regarding the series

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