Season 1

The **first season** of Shameless' US remake consisted of 12 episodes that began airing on January 9, 2011. The season introduces the dysfunctional Gallagher family who live in Chicago's South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood.

## Overview

The season depicts the dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a single, alcoholic, and trashy father of six children in Chicago. With Frank's bipolar wife, Monica, running away from Frank prior to the first season, the family has been run by Frank's eldest daughter Fiona, who raises her five other siblings: the extraordinarily intelligent Lip, goofy and strong-hearted Ian, the mature and grounded Debbie, the troublemaking and
unruly child Carl, and the baby Liam, who is mysteriously black (in the second half of the season, a paternity test reveals Frank as Liam's biological father). Often involved in the Gallagher's lives are their neighbors, Kevin and Veronica, who fake a marriage mid-season to obtain a substantial dowry.
The season's core story revolves around Steve Wilton, an affluent man whom Fiona and Veronica meet at a dance club. Fiona begins a relationship with Steve and discovers that he is a high end car thief. Fiona's childhood friend and police officer, Tony Markovich, expresses interest in dating Fiona, though Fiona ultimately turns him down. When Steve leaves town to visit his family in Lake Forest, it is revealed that his real name is Jimmy Lishman; Jimmy, under the alias of Steve, comes from a wealthy family who presumes he is away at medical school. When Debbie discovers Steve's secret, she agrees to keep it a secret from Fiona, but does notify Steve's real mother about his double life.

The subsidiary plot throughout the season involves Ian, who is a closeted homosexual, his sexual orientation only known to Lip and a friend, Mandy. Ian pursues a sexual relationship with his boss Kash, the adult owner of a local convenience store. Kash is unhappily married to his wife, Linda, who discovers the affair through the store's newly installed security cameras; Linda blackmails Kash into impregnating her. Mandy's thug brother, Mickey Milkovich, openly shoplifts from the store and regularly insults Kash. When Ian confronts Mickey, the two unexpectedly have sex, and they begin a casual sexual relationship. When Kash finds out, he angrily shoots Mickey in the leg when he attempts to shoplift. Mickey is arrested for attempted shoplifting and Kash is praised for his efforts. In the final episode, Ian comes out to Fiona, who is accepting of his sexuality.

Frank's eldest son, Lip, is in an open relationship with the promiscuous Karen Jackson, though Lip wants to pursue their relationship as more than a casual fling. Karen's mother, Sheila, is a nice but kooky housewife diagnosed with severe agoraphobia. Frank becomes romantic with Sheila and moves in with her, though he's mainly there to freeload and cash on Sheila's disability checks, much to Karen's dismay. Sheila's estranged ex-husband, Eddie, attempts to reconcile with Karen by inviting her to a purity ball, a father/daughter event where girls pledge their chastity. When Karen delves into a detailed list of her sexual history at the ball, as required by the ball's program, Eddie angrily calls her a whore. Sheila furiously kicks Eddie out of her house, overcoming her agoraphobia in the process. In a cruder turn of events, Karen wants to get revenge on her father and rapes an incapacitated Frank, showcasing the incident on a video blog that she sends to Eddie and his co-workers. Beaten over the video and past events, Eddie commits suicide by jumping in a frozen lake. Consequently, a guilt-stricken Karen breaks up with Lip. Both Frank and Karen separately apologize to Lip for the video.

In the final episodes, Lip and Ian are arrested after being caught driving one of Steve's stolen cars, straining Fiona and Steve's relationship; though Fiona, conflicted, admits that she may be falling in love with Steve. Meanwhile, Tony discovers the truth about Steve's occupation. He attacks Steve and gives him an ultimatum—to turn himself in and be arrested, or to leave Fiona and disappear without a trace. Though Steve tries to convince Fiona to accompany him in Costa Rica, Fiona declines his offer and takes up an office job from a new friend, Jasmine, to further care for her family. Under obligation, Steve is forced to run off without the girl he expected he'd be with.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* William H. Macy - Frank Gallagher
* Emmy Rossum - Fiona Gallagher
* Nina Dobrev - Bethany Gallagher
* Justin Chatwin - Steve / Jimmy Lishman
* Cameron Monaghan - Ian Gallagher
* Jeremy Allen White - Phillip "Lip" Gallagher
* Jenna Ortega - Kiara Gallagher
* Shanola Hampton - Veronica Fisher
* Steve Howey - Kevin "Kev" Ball
* Ethan Cutkosky - Carl Gallagher
* Emma Kenney - Debbie Gallagher
* Laura Slade Wiggins - Karen Jackson
* Joan Cusack - Sheila Jackson