The finest Shameless characters are one of a kind and flawed in their personal way. Many characters came and went in the 11-season Showtime series, but no matter who they have been, Shameless did not hide the uglier components of what created them actually human: producing errors, dealing with disappointment, and facing harsh realities. As such, the characters of this series are some of the most intriguing to grace the compact screen for the reason that of their relatable imperfections.

The Shameless cast all deserved awards for their skills to scratch beneath the flawed surface of the Gallagher household and co., displaying their likability and empathy. Whether it was Emmy Rossum’s place-upon Fiona Gallagher, who sadly departed the show, or Jeremy Allen White’s brilliant but troubled Lip, it really is tough to pick a favourite amongst all these fan-favourite South Side characters.

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20 Mike Pratt

Played By Jake McDorman

Mike Pratt was a type and caring character when he initial showed up, which created it clear that he did not stand a likelihood in Shameless. He was introduced as Fiona’s new corporate boss and when their partnership turned romantic, it felt like difficulty was ideal about the corner. However, Mike proved to be just the type of companion that Fiona required. He was supportive and steady, permitting her to knowledge a actual partnership not ruled by chaos.

Seeing the type of relationships Fiona had been in prior to, it was tough not to like Mike primarily based on how he treated her. The only frustrating factor about his storyline was the way Fiona chose to destroy their partnership. Despite the improved life that he may possibly have provided, Fiona just located him to be also ordinary and she seemed to crave destroying a thing that was functioning so nicely. This led to her becoming unfaithful, which incorporated sleeping with Mike’s brother, who was struggling with addiction. Mike is a character who deserved improved, but he did give Fiona some short happiness.

19 Sierra Morton

Played By Ruby Modine

Like Mike for Fiona, Sierra was Lip’s adore interest who seemed to be best for him and set him on a improved track only for his personal destructive nature to ruin it. Sierra was a new waitress functioning with Fiona who promptly struck up a connection with Lip. They had sturdy chemistry from the starting and it was Sierra who wanted to maintain items casual as she had a young son who she was raising with her drug-addict ex.

While Sierra starts to want a thing much more critical, it becomes clear that Lip is nonetheless in a dark location following his failed try at college. However, Sierra continues to have a optimistic effect on him, producing him a improved particular person and planting the seeds for his future of beginning a household. While it initially seemed like she could be the a single Lip ends up with, he encourages her to get back with her ex whom he has helped get sober, displaying much more development in Lip, which was straight influenced by Sierra.

18 Monica Gallagher

Played By Chloe Webb

Despite becoming an vital character for the all round series, Monica Gallagher ranks low amongst the Gallagher household members thanks to becoming mainly an absentee mother. Monica does not have a lot of screen time, but her presence is a single of the most impactful, which is a testament to Chloe Webb’s overall performance and the way the character is written. She’s loud, energetic, and desperate to really feel loved. She desires to be a excellent mother, but she also desires to lead the life she believes is finest for her.

Most of the Gallagher youngsters finish up resenting her or pretending she does not exist. Fiona provides up on each of her parents and prefers that Monica remain out of their lives. However, soon after her death, Fiona mourns her mom and reads a single of her books to get to know who she is. Every time Monica reappeared, it would be like a hurricane — a single of her episodes is aptly titled “Hurricane Monica.” Regardless of her restricted screen time, the effect Monica had on numerous characters is noticed all through the series.

17 Jimmy Lishman

Played By Justin Chatwin

Jimmy’s time on Shameless was marked by secrets, lies, and, of course, drama. Jimmy was wildly fascinating from his initial look in the pilot episode, and he had sufficient secrets, schemes, and charisma to be a element of the Gallagher household himself. Although Jimmy wasn’t often sincere with Fiona about his life, he loved her and her household really a great deal and would have completed something for them. Fiona and Jimmy’s partnership was sweet to watch and there have been instances when it seemed as although he was her finest likelihood at becoming delighted.

At the finish of the day, although, Jimmy had the finest intentions but terrible comply with-by way of. His repeated dips into much less-than-legal function and shady behavior created him a difficult and thrilling character, but not a really trusted companion, causing Fiona to reduce ties with him for excellent. He was in the end a single of Fiona’s worst lovers, but Shameless would not have been the exact same with no the revolving door that was Jimmy/Steve’s presence.

16 Sandy Milkovich

Played By Elise Eberle

Mickey’s cousin and Debbie’s girlfriend, Sandy was introduced in season 11 but promptly became a single of the show’s most vital characters in spite of becoming such a late addition. Sandy is a single of the most loyal and understanding of the bunch, and she repeatedly supports Debbie in the Gallagher residence but is not afraid to be brutally sincere with her when she’s actually in the incorrect.

Sandy created Debbie improved by accurately pointing out some of her terrible behavior and forcing her to confront it. Audiences’ hearts broke for Sandy when she revealed the secret that she had been hiding: a kid from an unhealthy partnership she rushed into as a young teen. Although her attitude about her son might not be understandable to some, she was of course in a really tricky and difficult scenario, and she did a lot to turn her life about. The character’s exit from Shameless had a bit effect on Debbie’s arc, altering her for the worse.

15 Franny Gallagher

Played By Paris Newton

Debbie’s kid Franny is a single of the youngest characters on Shameless, but they nonetheless do a lot with their plotline on the show, as they normally see the incorrect finish of Debbie’s problematic moments. Franny routinely sticks up for themself and is really vocal about their identity from a young age. They express distaste for princess dresses and stereotypically girly items and never want to participate in the pageant that Debbie pushes them into.

Franny is also a benchmark in inclusivity for the show, as they share with Frank that they never really feel like a girl on the inside, but actually determine with becoming a boy. They are nonetheless young and has a lot of exploring and understanding to do, but this level of self-expression and identity is impressive for somebody so young and is an admirable trait in a character. It created for an endearing journey for this young character even if the show wasn’t focused on them as a great deal as the other Gallaghers.

14 Svetlana Yevgenivna

Played By Isidora Goreshter

Svetlana gives a fresh adjust of viewpoint from the other South Side natives on the show and is a single of Shameless‘ most complicated side characters. She comes from a unique background, and she shows everybody the know-how and adaptability she’s acquired from her challenging upbringing. Svetlana is complete of surprises, often revealing much more layers to her character and her troubled previous.

When she was with Mickey, Svetlana was normally objectified and not especially valued. Some of her storylines, such as her manipulation of Mickey, risked fans turning on her, but her motivations to remain far from the life she employed to reside have been often sympathetic. It’s a welcome surprise when she’s appreciated as a small business-savvy and ambitious character when she lives with Kevin and V. However, Svetlan’s abrupt departure from Shameless left a lot of possible for the character on the table.

13 Tami Tamietti

Played By Kate Miner

Tami’s entrance into the show was an erratic partnership with Lip, but when they found that she was pregnant with their kid, Fred, she mellowed out drastically and took her function as a mother really seriously, becoming a single of Lip’s greatest lovers on Shameless. Tami and Lip are a correct group as parents, and they do their finest to give a excellent life for Fred.

Tami double-tasks as a mother and hairstylist and even battled with contracting COVID-19 in the final season of the show. Sometimes it was challenging to watch the techniques in which Lip hurt her, such as sleeping with her sister, but her need to remain with him showed the strength of their bond. She is fiercely loyal and rolls with the punches, even assisting Lip when he and other ex-staff steal the supplies from the auto shop. In the finish, the truth that she was the a single who helped give Lip the life he wanted tends to make her a standout Shameless character.

12 Frank Gallagher

Played By William H. Macy

Frank is the household patriarch and adopts several unique personas all through his time on the show — Frank, Daddy Frank, Francis, and even Saint Francis, just to name a couple of. Though he’s a terrible particular person, he’s a fantastic instance of a realistic and complicated character. As he says in the pilot, there is a piece of him in just about every a single of his youngsters, reflecting his and their several layers.

Even if he’s drunk or higher most of the time, Frank normally has a lot of fascinating items to say. He’s an educated and opinionated particular person, and his several spiels at the Alibi demonstrate the detail that went into producing his character. Between his ridiculous schemes on Shameless and the subsequent sticky conditions he finds himself in, Frank is a single of the most entertaining characters to watch, and that is what tv is all about.

It can not be ignored how a great deal William H. Macy’s overall performance assists elevate the character. Macy was the largest name in the cast when the show began and his overall performance earned him numerous awards, such as six Emmy nominations and two SAG Award wins. However, though there have been Shameless characters who have been worse than Frank, some of the items he did, like sleeping with Lip’s girlfriend and ruining Fiona’s wedding, make it tough to like him.

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11 Sheila Jackson

Played By Allison Janney &amp Joan Cusack

Sheila Jackson was a single of the finest Shameless characters, in spite of her somewhat restricted screen time. Sheila faced an extraordinary arc all through Shameless seasons 1-5, at initial suffering from debilitating agoraphobia, then at some point fulfilling her dream of traveling the planet. While introduced as the “neighborhood weirdo,” it really is quickly found that Sheila is trapped in a toxic marriage and battles to rein in her wayward daughter, all though dealing with her mental overall health situation.

Sheila was ultimately in a position to leave the toxicity of her life behind to go and search for her happiness for the reason that if any individual deserved it, it was Sheila. At initial portrayed by Allison Janney, prior to becoming recast by Joan Cusack, Sheila’s parenting tendencies right away endeared her to the Gallagher household. Sheila got a lot of flack for her idiosyncracies from the rest of the Shameless characters, but she had a excellent heart. Joan Cusack’s overall performance is a single of the highlights of the show, becoming the only cast member of Shameless to earn an Emmy for the show.

10 Mandy Milkovich

Played By Jane Levy &amp Emma Greenwell

Mandy’s time on Shameless was also quick. Despite the hostile atmosphere she grew up in, Mandy is really unique from her relatives. She’s type, considerate, and selfless, providing a listening ear to Ian and providing anything of herself to support Lip get into college. Her partnership with Lip is a single of the sweetest in the show, and it really is clear they each care about every other a lot. Even Mandy’s recasting on Shameless did not hurt her arc in the series.

Mandy is also a fantastic pal to each Ian and Lip and has no issue telling Mickey when he’s acting stupid or not taking items with Ian much more seriously. She is a tragic character also, obtaining to endure physical and emotional abuse from her romantic partners on the show. There have been instances when Mandy was frightening and brutal, such as operating more than Karen, but the show created the audience recognize the discomfort she had knowledgeable for most of her life. Ultimately, Mandy did not deserve her fate of surrendering to a life of abuse and manage.

9 Debbie Gallagher

Played By Emma Kenney

There are a lot of items incorrect with Debbie Gallagher, but her complexity is a testament to the series’ writers. While this was never ever channeled in the ideal path, Debbie proved several instances that she was by far the most ambitious Gallagher kid, and mirrored her father in several techniques. After Fiona left, Debbie primarily took more than her provider function, and though she was a poor stand-in for her sister, her characterization remained the exact same.

Debbie knew what she wanted from an early age and, with a staggering quantity of shrewdness and calculation, accomplished her ambitions, no matter how quick or extended-term they have been. Debbie’s moral code was strange and normally changed to match the scenario in front of her, major to some actually problematic but equally entertaining moments in the series. As a great deal hate as her character got, there is no query Debbie was a large element of Shameless and the series would not have been the exact same with no her.

8 Kevin Ball

Played By Steve Howey

Kevin has often been an audience favourite thanks to his unwavering compassion and empathy. He might appear challenging on the surface, but for a South Sider, he’s reasonably soft. Kevin sets the mood at the Alibi, which is house to some of the show’s most memorable scenes. He has an open thoughts about people today and relationships, which tends to make him an endearing and likable presence in a show that is filled with a lot of cynicism.

He might not be the smartest character on Shameless, particularly when he has his daughters roll blunts for the Alibi, but he often has a thing fascinating — if not unexpectedly smart — to say. Kevin is often there for a excellent laugh, but he also encourages Veronica to assume about items from a unique viewpoint and assists other individuals in tough conditions. While Kevin and Veronica’s partnership had its ups and downs, it was also the most constant a single on Shameless.

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7 Veronica Fisher

Played By Shanola Hampton

Veronica is a sturdy lady who does not let herself be place in a box. From the really start out, she and Kevin defy partnership expectations and just do what ever tends to make them delighted,even getting into into a throuple with Svetlana at a single point. Her strained, and but nonetheless loving, partnership with her mother is difficult and tends to make her character that a great deal much more relatable.

In addition to wanting the finest for her partnership and youngsters, V also desires what is finest for her neighborhood. She routinely advocates for the South Side, even going door to door to urge Black citizens in the region to vote for upcoming bills. After seeing the thriving neighborhoods in Louisville, she tends to make the tricky choice to leave the South Side and move to pursue improved possibilities for her household. It is not normally fans see so a great deal ambition from a character on Shameless and it created V stand out amongst the other individuals as somebody fighting for a thing actually excellent.

6 Carl Gallagher

Played By Ethan Cutkosky

Carl had some critical hustling abilities on Shameless. He went by way of a lot all through the show and his viewpoint on life absolutely changed. At the start out of Shameless and for a substantial chunk of time on the series, he leaned into breaking guidelines and committing crimes. Then, Carl turned his life about and enrolled at a military college prior to at some point becoming a police officer.

His arc in the series was a single of the most unexpected, and by the finish of Shameless, he shocked several people today by becoming the most nicely-rounded and excellent-natured character. Carl is really protective of his good friends and household and has even been a physical protector for them when people today threaten to do them harm. He has a sturdy sense of justice and is not afraid to confront authority when he’s doubtful about particular police officers’ practices. Where he ended up was created all the much more satisfying soon after seeing all the errors and lessons he discovered along the way.

5 Liam Gallagher

Played By Christian Isaiah

Liam undergoes a single of the greatest transformations of any Shameless character, as he actually starts the series as a infant. As he grows, he gains much more autonomy and reveals himself to be a single of the most skilled hustlers in the Gallagher household, in addition to obtaining a single of the largest hearts. Being the youngest, he’s nonetheless attached to Frank, and their partnership is a single of the most compelling in the show.

Liam desires to be loyal to his father, who half-tries to give him a decent shot at life by obtaining him into a private college. However, at the exact same time, Liam knows Frank’s history and that he can only genuinely rely on himself. Shameless‘ final season genuinely highlighted Liam’s type nature as he was the only a single who cared about Frank dying, taking care of his father and permitting him to knowledge a small bit of happiness prior to he passed.

4 Lip Gallagher

Played By Jeremy Allen White

In a way, Lip is a single of the most tragic characters on Shameless, as his ending was the compounding outcome of all of his life alternatives. Nevertheless, Lip is so realistic that any audience member can confess that they’ve encountered somebody like him prior to. Lip’s largest enemy has often been himself, and time and once more, Lip manages to get in his way by letting his libido and insecurities lead him. It’s heartbreaking for the reason that Lip began on Shameless as the Gallagher kid with the most academic possible.

He was the initial Gallagher to go to college, but in the end messed it up thanks to an affair with a professor and falling prey to rising concerns with alcoholism. Lip resented his talents and never ever wanted to be the “golden goose.” While audiences located themselves very frustrated with all of Lip’s difficulties on Shameless, he was an very nicely-written character, and his complexity turns out to be to his detriment, as Lip’s unsatisfying ending in the series was in the end the sum of his personal alternatives.

Jeremy Allen White provides a terrific overall performance, and though he was often wonderful, he was ostensibly the lead of the show by Shameless’ finale. It is undoubtedly White’s overall performance that earned him his acclaimed function on The Bear.

3 Ian Gallagher

Played By Cameron Monaghan

Ian’s evolution all through the series is a single of the most fascinating to watch. He starts as a shy and quiet teenager, struggling with his identity, but he gradually becomes much more confident and utilizes his voice to support other individuals. Unlike the other Gallaghers, Ian does a lot for the neighborhood. He’s type-hearted and actually desires to do a thing much more with his life, even becoming an EMT for a time.

Ian feels terrible when he does something incorrect — like placing Yevgeny in danger, for instance. Although he’s often afraid to be a burden to his siblings and Mickey for the reason that of his mental overall health, they show unconditional adore and assistance for him. His partnership with and eventual marriage to Mickey have been some of the finest items to occur to Ian on Shameless, and viewers could not be happier that their favourite South Side couple got a delighted ending.

2 Fiona Gallagher

Played By Emmy Rossum

Frank is normally treated like the principal character, but through her time on the show, it feels much more like Fiona is the leader of the Gallagher pack. Her arc is the a single with the most obstacles, and it really is a correct hero’s journey, producing her a single of the finest Shameless characters. Fiona normally subverts audience expectations when it comes to her alternatives and who the planet thinks she ought to be. Even although she’s intensely likable, she tends to make just as several errors as the much less favorable characters.

Fiona forges her way and functions tirelessly to give a life for her household, normally overlooking her interests and dreams. She’s had the biggest quantity of jobs of all the characters on the show. However, soon after years of becoming taken for granted, Fiona ultimately puts herself initial and leaves to concentrate on her happiness. Emmy Rossum exited Shameless soon after season 9, and Shameless just wasn’t the exact same soon after Fiona was gone.

1 Mickey Milkovich

Played By Noel Fisher

Mickey is quickly a single of the finest Shameless characters, as he is unrecognizable by the finish of the series. At initial, Mickey appears like a a single-dimensional and angry particular person, but he quickly reveals much more layers to his character, and the Milkovich household shares a surprising quantity of screen time with the Gallaghers. At initial, Mickey has a difficult partnership with his sexuality, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the physicality of it, rather, the emotional aspect of his romantic draw to Ian.

After Mickey’s myriad incarcerations, his partnership with Ian grows and at some point becomes a single of the most steady in the series. Mickey’s evolution is really gradual and feels the most realistic provided the atmosphere he’s grown up in. He is not a straightforward particular person, and he is not effortless to adore, but the Gallaghers come to accept him. Of course, his romance with Ian is a single of the highlights of Shameless, but even on his personal, Mickey is funny, entertaining, rough about the edges, and often purely himself.

Shameless

Shameless is a Black Comedy, Family Drama developed by Paul Abbott and starring William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, and Justin Chatwin. The premise follows the Gallagher household and their closest good friends as they deal with a not-so-useful father, Frank Gallagher. His youngsters every discover their personal path, developing into their personal flawed people today with no a great deal guidance or support from the household patriarch.

Release Date

January 9, 2011

Cast

William H. Macy , Jeremy Allen White , Justin Chatwin , Ethan Cutkosky , Joan Cusack , Emmy Rossum , Emma Kenney , Cameron Monaghan , Noel Fisher , Steve Howey , Shanola Hampton

Seasons

11

Writers

Paul Abbott