Gay Teens, Bad Behavior & Being ’Shameless’
There’s never been so much fun and entertainment in being "shameless’ than when watching the Showtime series of the same name. Currently in its second season (and already renewed for a third), the American version of the British hit comedy has hit its creative stride with the raw portrayal of the Chicago-based Gallaghers.
Led by their drunk, irresponsible, unscrupulous and mostly absent father, Frank (played by Oscar-nominated, multiple Emmy-winner William H. Macy), the six Gallagher children deep down may have good hearts but they also live in a tough, realistic world where bending the rules and breaking laws are an everyday part of their lives.
Members of the cast and the producers of "Shameless" were on hand last month during the winter session of the Television Critics Association in Pasadena and EDGE’s Jim Halterman was there.
Comedy or drama?
Viewers familiar with the show know that "Shameless" has both comedic and dramatic components but which category does Executive Producer John Wells ("Southland," "ER") think it best fits?
"We write it as a comedy with dramatic elements, and particularly as each season progresses, there are more dramatic elements. So the beginning of the season tends to be a little bit more comic and as the situations evolve it ends up being more dramatic by the end. I’ve just been working on the final episodes of this season that just began, and it gets more dramatic as the season goes on. But these are these categories that are very difficult to define. Every year there are a certain number of shows, particularly in our area, that are a little of both."
EDGE asked Wells about the challenges in the character of sixteen-year old Ian Gallagher (played by Cameron Monaghan), who is a gay teen and is also sexually active. "The original challenges of it, because [Monaghan] was a minor when we began, were simply what we could show and not show and wanting to be realistic about those lifestyle choices that he was making and have it not seem as if somehow we were dealing with everyone else’s sexuality, but this was something you can’t see. But literally, there’s a federal law which we were routinely reminded of by Warner Brothers legal every time they got a script about what we could and couldn’t show. And he turned 18 this year."
Perfectly natural
Wells said he was recently watching one of the final episodes that will air in Season Two and shared his feelings on it.
"We see [Ian] engaged romantically with a man, and I loved it because we hear... the majority of the mail that I actually get on the show, other than people just sort of stopping us on the street, are actually from gay teenagers who say just a simple thank you. And that is something that I feel really good about that we’re able to do. It’s not simple choices for him. It’s not simple choices for him in this neighborhood. We’re not trying to underplay the difficulty for him, and at the same time, it’s a perfectly natural thing that he’s doing..."
Although Monaghan was not at the panel session (he was in New York shooting the episode of NBC’s "Law & Order: SVU" that aired last week) Wells had nothing but admirable things to say about the young actor.
"He’s been very brave about it, which is great. He’s not gay and he has completely embraced the idea of this character and what the character means and it’s becoming something that I think is, at least from the mail that we get and what he tells me from the people that he hears from, has become important for gay teenagers that are actually dealing with a lot of the same issues."
Satire... or bad taste?
In talking about Frank Gallagher, who recently dated a woman (who, due to her unattractive features, was known as Butterface) only because she was dying and he wanted to be put in her will as a beneficiary, how does Macy feel about playing a character who could be considered very unlikable?
"I’ve got the best job in Hollywood," Macy said, grinning wildly. "I love Frank Gallagher, and I never had a problem with it. He’s got his good qualities. He’s got a great sense of humor, and he’s hard working, ambitious, and imaginative. He’s fun at a party. I love him."
But is there a line that the writers would not have Frank cross? "We are always trying to find it," said Wells. "We bumped into it a couple of times. There are scenes that we actually shoot and cut because we look at each other in the editing room and go, ’Yeah. We are just not going to do that.’ But we are trying to sort of poke fun at the inhibitions, the societal inhibitions, political correctness, and we are always trying to find... there’s just that moment when you look at it and go, ’All right. There’s a difference between trying to satirize a societal norm and actually just bad taste.’"
Emmy Rossum, who plays eldest daughter Fiona Gallagher, added later in the panel, "I don’t think we’re ever going for the laugh. I think we’re trying to tell a real story about what real people are going through. Of course, it’s partly satire, but I also think that it’s hard to say whether it’s just a drama or a comedy and I think that most comedies that are down the middle don’t deal with subject matter like alcoholism and defining your sexuality at a young age and euthanasia and things like that. So, I don’t think that we fit into that box which we love."
A moral compass?
While it could be seen that compared to Frank that Fiona is the moral center of the Gallaghers, Rossum admitted that Fiona is shameless in her own right and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. "I think shameless is a good thing. I think shame is a negative thing in society and I think that this is a family that revels in who they are and being honest about who they are, and I think that that’s a good thing. I mean, [Fiona is] definitely acting a little more shameless this year than last. I mean, she’s nursing a broken heart, and it’s summer. So it’s sweaty. And she’s definitely playing the field a little bit, but I think that we’ll see as the season goes on that that’s coming from a place of hurt."
Is there a moral compass at all in the world of "Shameless?" "I’m not sure I would refer to it as a moral compass," Wells said. "We talk about it with the actors. We talk about it in the writers’ room a lot... there’s a moment at which for me, we’re doing something that illuminates the character in some fashion or allows us to satirize or to be talking about or to sort of poke at social norms that we should be talking about that are uncomfortable to talk about. And those I’m willing to do. Things that are simply done for a laugh but don’t have anything of that underneath it... I don’t want to do anything that damages the character."
The way Wells does measure whether he’s hit on something? How uneasy it makes him and the other writers. "That’s what we’re looking for [are] those moments that we’re satirizing and that we make fun of and yet there’s sort of a pit in your stomach where you go, ’Ooh, there’s something true about this that’s making me uncomfortable.’ And that’s when you know you’ve actually kind of hit on it and when you get to one of those moments and you’re shooting them and you don’t have that feeling and you’re pushing it, then you’re just pushing for a joke, which to me is where we always have to have a conversation."
"Shameless" airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.
