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TV Media Weekly | February 20 - 26, 2016 ties, yet somehow they're like- able. The show handles some pretty heavy issues, and, on the surface, these peoples' lives are bleak and depressing, to say the least; most of the time, they're in pretty dire straits. Yet it still man- ages to be funny. The series is ex- tremely well cast, and a lot can be said for delivering warmth and humor in serious situations. The official head of the rowdy Gallagher clan is booze-addled, freeloading, remorseless, conniv- ing patriarch Frank, played to ab- solute perfection by Emmy winner William H. Macy ("Fargo," 1996). The guy is the very definition of the word "bum" — he does ev- erything he can to cheat the sys- tem, he relies entirely on the chil- dren he neglects in order to barely squeak by, he takes advantage of whomever he can, whenever he can, and despite being a total waste of skin, he's also, somehow, an insufferable narcissist. The unofficial head of the household — in other words, the one keeping things afloat — is el- dest daughter Fiona (Emmy Ros- sum, "The Day After Tomorrow," 2004), who dropped out of high school in her junior year to care for her five siblings. Though far from perfect, she's as selfless as her father is selfish, and does her best to keep the kids in line and on the right track. Things have started to unravel for Fiona in the past couple of seasons, with a stint in jail and an impulsive and ill-advised marriage under her belt, but her siblings are as impor- tant to her as ever. It's the con- stant return to the family unit, however dysfunctional, that gets the Gallaghers from one insane issue to the next. "What I like about [Fiona] still is her desire to win, and that's kind of [true] throughout all of the characters," Rossum told The Hollywood Reporter last year. "No matter how many times they get beat up, lose their house, get separated, go into foster care — they still come together; they don't really get bogged down the way life can bog you down. They're fighters." Indeed, the whole brood is fac- ing some pretty big issues as sea- son 6 unfolds. Lip (Jeremy Allen White, "Twelve," 2010) is mess- ing around with his married pro- fessor, while Ian (Cameron Mon- aghan, "Click," 2006) is still struggling with his mental health — though it looks like he may be gaining some much-needed di- rection in life since his rescue by a pack of hot, gay firefighters. Fifteen-year-old Debbie (Emma Kenney, "Bittersweet," 2008) is pregnant and getting pressured by Fiona to have an abortion, while Carl (Ethan Cutkosky, "The Unborn," 2009), following a stint in juvy, has taken up a life of crime in earnest (while sporting cornrows, no less). Meanwhile, the whole crew is still responsible for youngest brother Liam's (Brenden and Brandon Sims) im- probable survival. Oh, and the family is now facing eviction, with gentrification rearing its ugly head in Canaryville. As far as the show's content goes, this last problem is probably the biggest. While the individual Gallaghers have always had their own personal problems, the fami- ly invariably bands together to help each other out of their re- spective jams. Keeping the family together has always been of ut- most importance, and no matter how tough life gets in the Gal- lagher house, it's always been there for them all to come back to. Season 6 could prove a real turn- ing point, splitting up the family in earnest, or it could just prove one more massive hurdle that they need to come together to jump. Certainly, on the surface, "Shameless" sounds like it should be sad and tense rather than fun- ny, but the show's humor, dark as it is, is undeniable. Join the Gal- laghers as they continue to lie, steal and cheat their way through season 6. A new episode of "Shameless" airs Sunday, Feb. 21, on Showtime. By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media D espite the critical acclaim that Showtime's "Shameless" and its British forerunner have enjoyed, the American dramedy doesn't seem to generate a ton a buzz. It certainly deserves to, though. The show is a perfect blend of black humor and tear-jerking dra- ma, with a good smattering of petty crime, colorful language and the odd broken nose thrown in for good measure. At its heart, however, it's a show about family and the loyalty that that de- mands, no matter how rough things get — and in "Shameless," things get pretty rough. Catch a new episode of "Shameless" when it airs Sunday, Feb. 21, on Showtime. The original "Shameless" ran for an impressive 11 seasons on Channel 4 in the U.K. and received critical acclaim, taking home the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Se- ries in its first season, as well as the award for Best TV Comedy Drama at the British Comedy Awards. Recreating foreign shows in American settings for American audiences can generate both hits ("The Office") and miss- es ("Gracepoint"), but "Shame- less" transitioned seamlessly from working-class Manchester to Chicago's South Side. The series follows the (often il- legal) exploits of the dysfunction- al and disorderly Gallagher family, whose six kids live paycheck to paycheck — or, perhaps more ac- curately, welfare check to welfare check — with a deadbeat father and an absentee mother. The brilliance of the show is that none of its characters pos- sess particularly admirable quali- Emmy Rossum as seen in "Shameless" No crying shame The Gallaghers need each other more than ever in season 6 of 'Shameless' 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" 3830 S LAFOUNTAIN, KOKOMO 765-453-9125 SUN-THURS 11AM-1OPM FRI & SAT 11AM-11PM www.grindstonesrestaurantandpub.com $ 3 00 OFF $15.00 Food Purchase Expire: 02/29/16 One coupon per person, per visit. Not good with any other offer. Taxes & Gratuity not included. Must present this Coupon for discount. TV

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