Shameless

In the series premiere, we meet the fabulously dysfunctional Gallagher family of working-class Chicago. Dad's a drunk; Mom split long ago; eldest daughter Fiona tries to hold the family together; eldest son Philip (Lip) tutors the neighborhood girls in physics and is repaid in kind; middle son Ian is grappling with homosexuality -- and being grappled by his married Pakistani employer at the corner liquor store; youngest daughter Debbie is stealing money from her UNICEF collection to help put food on the table; ten year old Carl is a budding sociopath and arsonist; and toddler Liam is -- well, he might actually be black, but nobody has a clue how. Meanwhile, the electric bill is due, there's no money, and someone has to look after the baby... It's one day at a time for this crazy dysfunctional family, but their mutual love and support for each other always see them through.

Drunk as a skunk, Frank has a run in with Karen Jackson's father and returns home to take it out on Ian. The next day is Friday and Frank is nowhere to be found, which is a bit odd since he never misses disability check day. The family starts a manhunt and panic sets in when a body is found under the El. But Frank turns up in Toronto -- with no passport and no clue as to how he got there, and Steve has to figure out how to get him back to Chicago.

Having blown off Steve, Fiona turns her attention to Tony (guest star TYLER JACOB MOORE), the cop who's had a crush on her since childhood. After having sex in his cop car with Fiona, Tony pursues a relationship with her. Steve, however, has not given up the fight. A woman from the Office of Inspector General suspects that someone may be stealing and cashing social security checks belonging to Aunt Ginger, the Gallagher's elderly aunt who owns the house they live in. Now, Frank and his whole clan must find their aunt and bring her home before the government woman comes back the next morning to interview Aunt Ginger. Ian rejects the advances of Mandy Milkovich (guest star JANE LEVY), one of the girls in his class. So, she tells her three thug brothers that Ian took advantage of her and they set out to give Ian a beat down.

Knowing that Kevin is already married, Fiona tries to talk Veronica out of moving forward with the marriage. After Veronica's mother dangles a cash gift for her wedding day as an incentive, however, Fiona and the Gallaghers pitch in to help pull off the (fake) wedding of the year. Steve busies himself on a hunt to steal the perfect Lexus and Fiona finds herself in the passenger seat. Ian and Kash try to take their relationship a little further, but Ian may not be ready. Meanwhile, during a routine medical disability examination, Frank learns that he has a tumor -- and spirals out of control as he deals with the news.