Shameless is a show that started in 2011. It is a remake of a British series. It dives into lives of a messy family in Chicago. Frank Gallagher runs the circus. Themes include poverty, addiction and family drama. But hey, it has dark humor. The cast is solid, with names like William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum. Who knew dysfunction could be this entertaining?

Meet the characters from Shameless

Kevin Ball

Kevin is the goofy, warm heart of the neighborhood who bartends like life is one long, affectionate hangout. He’s all about food, beer, and hosting — the world’s most enthusiastic party chef, honestly. Underneath the jokes he’s quietly steadfast and embarrassingly sentimental (he will absolutely cry at a bad karaoke duet). Sometimes lazy, sometimes heroic, he manages to be both a little lost and very much home.

Mickey Milkovich

Mickey is a walking contradiction in the best way — scowls, tattoos, and instant fight mode, but also this ridiculous capacity for tenderness. He looks like trouble and then melts into the kind of awkwardly devoted person who will defend you with his life and then apologize badly. His loyalty is terrifyingly fierce and full of weird romantic awkwardness. He can be violent and vulnerable in the same breath, and somehow that makes him impossible to pin down — also, I swear he has a soft spot for cats (or maybe I made that up, no wait).

Jimmy Lishman

Jimmy (Steve? depends on the chapter) is the charming con man who smells faintly of cologne and trouble. Smooth talker, romantic schemer, he can steal a watch and your heart in the same move. There’s a real person under the hustle who actually wants a family, which makes his vanishing acts sting more. He’ll show up dressed like a gentleman and then do something wildly stupid five minutes later.

Carl Gallagher

Carl is the pyrotechnic kid who grows up into someone oddly practical and permanently scarred by his own chaos. He loves guns and chaos and then somehow discovers discipline — confusing but true. Loud, stubborn, and fiercely loyal, he’s the type who’ll set something on fire and then help you fix the fence they burned. He collects strange trophies (burnt toys? medals?) and has a smile that’s a little dangerous.

Frank Gallagher

Frank is the original disaster, a scheming, brilliant mess who treats alcohol like scripture and lies like a hobby. He can spin a scam faster than anyone and genuinely believes half his own stories, which is both impressive and horrifying. Beneath the wreckage there are tiny glimmers of actual feeling — sharp, selfish, sometimes frighteningly affectionate in the worst moments. He’s loud, infuriating, charismatic in a dumpster-fire sort of way, and also probably hiding something smelly in his coat pocket right now.

Ian Gallagher

Ian is quietly intense with loyalty up to his eyeballs and moods that shift like weather. He’s brave, politically fired-up in his own low-key way, and emotionally sharp — like he notices the small stuff and stores it. Bipolar disorder is a big part of his arc; he can be calm and laser-focused one minute and completely catastrophic the next. Tender, complicated, and somehow always feeling like he’s on a late-night drive with eyeliner on.

Debbie Gallagher

Debbie is the earnest, slightly terrifyingly organized kid who decided adulthood was a performance she could absolutely nail. Maternal, stubborn, and bizarrely business-minded, she runs households like a tiny CEO and will snap her fingers when annoyed (don’t test her). She tries so hard to be perfect — cooks, plans, lists — and then collapses in small, honest ways, like crying over a lasagna or forgetting things because she’s stretched thin. She swings between boss energy and teenage chaos in the same afternoon and weirdly gets sentimental about holiday napkins (don’t ask, it’s a thing).

Lip Gallagher

Lip is the brilliant mess — a mind that could do anything and a self-destructive streak determined to ruin it. He thinks fast, snarks faster, and carries the ache of wasted potential like a heavy backpack. Fiercely loyal to family but sabotaging himself with pride and bad choices, he’s tragically endearing. He’ll read Nietzsche at 3 a.m., ruin a relationship by not saying what he means, and occasionally get caught dancing alone in the kitchen to terrible techno.

Fiona Gallagher

Fiona is the scorched-angel matriarch who bottled up adulthood like it was her job and then drank the job down like cheap wine. Resourceful, exhausted, fiercely loving and unbelievably stubborn — she fixes everything and then cries in the supply closet. She tries to claw her way out of chaos and sometimes makes bold leaps forward and then spectacularly trips on life’s tiniest shoelace. Her love life is a parade of bad decisions and big rescues; she both saves and gets saved, often by terribly wrong people, and yes, she steals office supplies sometimes (okay, a lot).

Veronica Fisher

Veronica (V) is the loud, loyal best friend who runs on sass, sarcasm, and an enormous heart. She cheers everyone on like a professional hype squad and curses like a sailor — it’s a perfect combo. Co-owner of the bar-with-Kev, loves gossip, and will fight you for anyone she calls family. Glamorous in a gritty way, she collects throw pillows and will bake you a pie while simultaneously plotting your revenge.