• Network: Showtime
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 9, 2011
  • Season #: 1 , 2 , 3 , 8
Shameless (US) Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 141 Ratings

  • Summary: William H. Macy is the often-drunk father of six kids who scheme and take care of one another in this remake of the highly regarded British show.
  • Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 26
  2. Negative: 3 out of 26
  1. Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Jan 6, 2011
    100
    Shameless is excellent, compelling television from the first moment. As long as it stays true to the roots of the original, it's going to be essential viewing.
  2. 80
    Shameless also has a rough and original charisma of its own, emphasizing as it does the freedom and not merely the deprivation of its family of quasi orphans.
  3. Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Jan 11, 2011
    60
    Now and then Shameless sloughs off its mostly self-imposed constraints and fires on all cylinders, observing economic hardship, drunken tomfoolery and sexual shenanigans with a keen eye for class specifics.
  4. Reviewed by: Kris King
    Jan 7, 2011
    38
    While Frank's high jinks are good for a chuckle, and his love/hate relationship with his kids speaks a lot about the complicated nature of having a down-and-out family, Shameless tries too hard to milk weighty drama from generally dull characters.

See all 26 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. 10
    You will love this show, every character is his own world, from crazy, spaced out kids, to troublesome teenagers, to drunk and sexually twisted adults. Highly recommended, can't wait for season 2. Expand
  2. Shameless is both funny and touching, sometimes going over the top in both directions. It's the performances of the cast, especially Emmy Rossum and Jeremy Allen White that keeps me coming back for more. The show can be irresponsible at times, but mostly it's just a lot of fun. Expand
  3. Whilst i liked this show, the music editing, acting and direction was really annoying and cheesy, I much prefer the UK version and would recommend it to anyone especially fans of this US version, i find it seems so much more realistic in the uk version (for one people are more normal looking than hollywood looking), the direction and narrative is much more stylish and gritty. characters such as kev, frank, shiela and steve are much better played. the parts people seem to like in this US show are soo much better in the UK version in my opinion. However i may be slightly biased as i grew up beside a UK council estate and met characters and was a part of communities similar to these, and thus you may not relate to it the same way i do, similar to perhaps my relation to this show relative to that of US viewers. Also the same could be said for the office UK and US versions however i can understand why people would prefer the US version as it is a totally different sense of humour and the UK in so cringe worthy at times its impossible to watch without ripping your own face off, however the UK version of shameless has the same sense of humour and so far the same plot more or less, just better done. Overall i think it is a good adaptation but if you like it i would urge you to try out the original. Expand
  4. It was painful sitting through the Pilot, my friends told me it was so awesome and I feel completely let down. I kept telling myself maybe it will get better but it really didn't. I stomached maybe 20 minutes into the second episode and couldnt take anymore. Expand

See all 28 User Reviews