It was announced earlier today that Shameless will finally be given the ultimate ASBO at the end of the 11th series, currently shooting in the ninth circle of hell Manchester.
From Paul Abbott’s provocative, sexy, hilarious debut series to the bloated, repetitive, vulgar mistake it’s latterly become, Shameless has undeniably been one of the faces of Channel 4 in the 21st Century. It will leave a drunken, festering hole in their schedules.
Abbott himself, who’s struggled with writer’s block for several years now (while being the mentor of all mentors to a new generation of British writing talent, a contribution that can’t be underestimated) is involved in the final series, so expect some surprises and, perhaps, some of the original daring to return.
Personally, I’d like him to demonstrate this by slaughtering with extreme prejudice the monster that is Frank Gallagher at the start of the first episode, with a joyous cavalcade of grave dancing stretching the length of the series. I’m probably being a bit optimistic there, but perhaps he’ll do the right thing in time for the finale.
I’d settle for Frank choking to death on his own vomit, to be honest.
