Shameless

Shameless is a British drama television series set in the fictional Chatsworth council estate, Stretford, Greater Manchester, England.
It is the story of a young group of siblings pretty much abandoned by their parents, surviving by their wits - and humor - on a rough Manchester council estate. Whilst they won't admit it, they need help and find it in Steve, a young middle class lad who falls for Fiona, the oldest sibling, and increasingly finds himself drawn to this unconventional and unique family. Anarchic family life seen through the eyes of an exceptionally bright fifteen year old, who struggles to come of age in the context of his belligerent father, closeted brother, psychotic sister and internet porn star neighbors.

Production
Shameless is produced by Company Pictures which is an independent UK production company which have produce things on BBC, ITV and Channel 4.


Distribution
Shameless has been distributed by Channel 4 since 13th January 2004.T
The show is shown every Tuesday at 10pm. It also aired on E4 for repeats (which is a channel associated with the Channel 4 company).

Reception
Average Viewing Figures
Series 1 = 2.57 million
Series 2 = 2.67 million
Series 3 = 3.01 million
Series 4 = 3.38 million
Series 5 = 2.65 million
Series 6 = 2.69 million

• In April 2005, the programme's first series won the Best Drama Series category at the British Academy TV Awards.
• Nominated for Best British Drama at the National TV Awards 2007.
• Won Best Continuing Drama Award at the Royal Television Awards Society North West Awards 2007.

Review: We've seen the comedic exploits of middle class families like The Connors on Roseanne and The Bundy's on Married with Children, But if the network sitcoms made great strides in depicting the more realistic, down-home families of America then Shameless runs a full-speed marathon in its focus on a struggling lower-to-middle class family. The Gallagher clan certainly isn't living in luxury, but they make no effort to apologize for the way they live, and aim to do whatever they can just to keep the status quo. Well, at least the six kids in the family struggle to keep the family afloat while the patriarch, a perpetually drunk deadbeat, does about everything he can to make that near impossible. That may sound like the depressing premise for an indie drama on a festival run, but in this case it's just the beginning of one of the most promising family dramas on television.