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2 • November 10 - 16, 2019 • Brainerd Dispatch By Breanna Henry TV Media T he 10th and final season of Showtime's longest-running original series premieres Sunday, Nov. 10. In simplest terms, "Shame- less" is a chronicling of the Gallagh- er family. They're poor yet shocking- ly well adjusted, considering the cir- cumstances — this South Chicago family has seen more than its fair share of grief and strife. The series has been nominated for dozens of television awards since it premiered in January 2011, and with a large, outstanding en- semble cast, an indie rock soundtrack and a wry, colorful script, it isn't hard to see why. Eng- lish screenwriter Paul Abbot created the original British version of "Shameless," and his semi-autobio- graphical script became a massive hit in the U.K. before American pro- ducer John Wells developed the pi- lot of Showtime's American take. If you are a new viewer, know that "Shameless" is gritty, vulgar and vi- olent. "Shameless" has it all, and is unapologetic — shameless even — about every scene. The Gallaghers are far from be- ing the easily digestible, blue-collar version of America's poor that series such as "Malcolm in the Middle," "Roseanne" or even "Married with Children" showcased — this is not living paycheck to paycheck, it's liv- ing penny to penny. Despite heavy themes of alcoholism, abuse, pover- ty and mental illness, "Shameless" manages more laughs than many comedies, and the Gallaghers seem more real than the cast of any reali- ty show. William H. Macy ("Fargo," 1996) plays Frank, the Gallagher family patriarch and the root of 99.99% of the family's problems. On top of be- ing an impenitent alcoholic and drug addict, he is also quite absent, often leaving his six children to fend for themselves. Up to this point, the family had Frank's eldest, Fiona (Emmy Rossum, "Before I Disap- pear," 2014), who ran the house and took care of every- one, despite her own struggles and youth. Rossum is not returning for the final season, though, and as difficult as it is for fans to see her go, it will certainly be much harder for the Gallagher family. Lip Gallagher is played by Jeremy Allen White ("Af- ter Everything," 2018), and he epit- omizes the "brilliant, but lazy" character trope while remaining one of the most endearingly tragic, lovable members of the family. Ian is the third oldest, wonderfully por- trayed by Cameron Monaghan ("Gotham"), whose struggles in earlier episodes revolved around his sexuality, and later his mental health. The only other daughter in the family is Debbie (Emma Kenney, "The Conners"). She is the only one of Frank's kids who openly cares for him, and watching her go from being an ador- able young girl to a teen mom and prostitute over the course of the series is both heartbreakingly tragic and excruciatingly real. The oth- er side of that coin is Ethan Cutkosky's ("The Unborn," 2009) character, Carl, the second-youngest Galla- gher child who goes from being a suspected psychopath to a reason- ably responsible young adult in mili- tary school. Frank's youngest son, toddler Liam, is played by Christian Isaiah ("Married"), and revealing much about him would be far too much of a spoiler. The Gallagher's neighbors, Veronica (Shanola Hampton, "#Truth," 2019) and Kev- in (Steve Howey, "Stuber," 2019), and Ian's on-again off-again part- ner, Mickey (Noel Fisher, "The Red Line"), round out the highly dys- functional cast that you can't help but fall in love with. The 10th season of "Shameless" promises more of Frank's misadven- tures, Ian's relationship troubles, Lip's seemingly doomed attempts at being a better father than his own, and more of Debbie getting into trouble — what it doesn't promise is a happy ending for the Gallagher family. Viewers might want everything to work out, a hap- py ending for these long-suffering characters, but in the wise words of Ian Gallagher, "Sometimes we get so wrapped up in getting what we want that we forget to ask our- selves why we wanted it in the first place." I think it's best to face the facts now: the damage Frank's alcohol- ism has done to his family is perma- nent, and a happy ending where the family suddenly finds itself wealthy and happy would undermine every- thing the show has been thus far: the most realistic depiction of pov- erty in America ever broadcast, as well as a real look at addiction and illness. I'm extremely interested to find out how the series differs from the British version's finale, and even more excited for when I can finally binge the entire series in one go without needing to wait for a whole week or more for the next episode. Through everything, and despite each other's many faults, the Galla- ghers love each other; as damaged as they all are, emotionally and mentally, they are one of the most beautiful depictions of what it means to be a family in television history. The end of the series will be bittersweet. The stories of Frank, Fiona, Lip, Ian, Debbie, Carl and Liam have been many years in the making, and their outrageous antics and emotional roller-coaster of a story will be sorely missed. Tune in to the final season of "Shameless," which premieres Sun- day, Nov. 10, on Showtime. No Apologies Final season of 'Shameless' premieres on Showtime Cover Story this week William H. Macy stars in "Shameless" A Little Late With Lilly Singh If you put every network late-night host in one room together and then add me and Hasan Minhaj, we look like the IT department at their law firm's Christmas party. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon In North Dakota, a college student discovered a 65-million- year-old dinosaur skull. Even more impressive, it only took his roommate an hour to turn it into a bong. I heard that Nestlé is going to start selling luxury handmade KitKats for $17 — they came up with the idea after asking: what does nobody on Earth want or need? The Late Show With Stephen Colbert So if the objective is not bad, it doesn't matter how you achieve it? That's like saying, "You know, since grandma died, grandpa has been alone way too much. So I sold him to the Yakuza. He'll be very happy there." The Late Late Show with James Corden Police in Washington State found a man parked on the side of a highway, and when they checked on him, they discovered he was playing PokemonGo on eight phones at the same time. He even created a phone case to carry all eight phones at once. Ya know, because otherwise he would have looked ridiculous. Late Night With Seth Meyers A bunch of grapes were recently sold for $11,000 at a Japanese auction. Also at Whole Foods. Officials at a wildlife rehabilitation center in Arkansas have developed a specially designed wheelchair to help a baby raccoon learn to walk. "Cool, cool," said people without health insurance. Late Laughs Downloadthe"VistBrainerd"App intheAppleorGooglePlayStores. Events,lodgingandthingstodo inthepalmofyourhand. VISITBRAINERD PlanningYour VisittoBrainerd JustGotEasier. TheOfficialDMOforBaxterandBrainerd,MN EntertainmentGuide_July_2x4.indd 1 6/26/2019 12:42:53PM Truth Lutheran Church 501 Kingwood Street, Brainerd, MN (Corner of 5th & Kingwood) truthlutheranchurch.com An LCMC Congregation …Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ Sunday worship 9 AM Fellowship and Sunday school following worship To help support BCA: Make a tax deductible donation: BrainerdCommunityAction.org and use the "Click Here to Donate" Button. Brainerd Community Action is looking forward to launching its very first COMMUNITY GIVE BACK GRANT! Contact Cassie with questions at Cassie@BrainerdCommunityAction.org

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