Previewing Shameless: Season Eight

It seems like every season of Shameless, something happens which I call the most shameless moment in the history of the show never to be topped… only for it to be the next season by something even more wild. That moment happens near the end of the third episode, and, oh my goodness, I doubt the writers can ever top that moment. But they will undoubtedly will somehow next season.

Shameless is predictable that way. Life in the Gallagher house sucks at the start of every season, things start looking up, then something horrible happens, and they are back at where they started by the end of the season. Then we get a couple month flashforward and a soft reboot every season. That is until now. All of the Gallagher love interests from last season are still around even if the couples crashed and burned last season. Ian’s ex-boyfriend who used to be a chick pops up a couple times in the first couple episodes. Lip’s ex-girlfriend is still working with him at the dinner as he offers to babysit. Her brother and Debbie are still a thing.

And though Fiona spent most of last season going from one Tinder hookup to the next, the first season involves her deleting the app because she wants something more. The person who went to the alter twice and averages a boyfriend per season is ready to settle down. Things are changing and growing so much, even Liam I think gets more lines in the first episode than he got in the previous seasons of the show combined.

But the biggest change of all this season may be Frank who, after the death of his wife has seen the error of his ways, is going around making amends and even goes so far to be a functioning member of society by actually getting a job. And not just to get injured so he can get more workmen’s comp. We will see just how long it last (I will predict it will last the season before he takes a copious amount of drugs and is back to his old degenerate self next season). Elsewhere this season, someone gets an unfortunate tattoo, Fiona runs into tenants in her new apartment who as bad as her father used to be (and some hot lesbians), there is a DUI, an ICE raid… of, yeah, and someone has a breast cancer scare. Never a dull moment on the South Side.

Shameless airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime.