Season 1

Meet Frank Gallagher (series star William H. Macy): proud, working-class patriarch to a motley brood of six smart, spirited and independent kids who, without him, would be... better off. In Frank's booze-addled view, parenting just eats into his hard-earned bar-crawling and carousing time around Chicago -- so he leaves it to eldest daughter Fiona (series star Emmy Rossum) to hold down the fort. Bearing the de facto parent badge/burden, she's donned the proverbial apron and makes sure her younger siblings do their chores, keep a clean(ish) home and feed the kitty -- the Gallagher family fund jar -- because the gas bill is due, and everyone (no matter how small) works to keep the house lights on, as well as food on the table. Brothers Lip (series star Jeremy Allen White), Ian (series star Cameron Monaghan) and Carl (series star Ethan Cutkosky) use their intellect to break every rule in the book to survive and make the bank, while younger sister Debbie (series star Emma Kenney) would sooner steal her share. Toddler Liam, the youngest, is just happy to be along for the ride. The Gallaghers are irreverent, endearing, resilient -- and they're absolutely, wildly and unapologetically Shameless.