Showtime Gets Shameless

Showtime has green-lit a pilot for an American version of the British drama Shameless. The American version will star William H. Macy. John Wells and the original series’ creator, writer Paul Abbot, wrote the adaptation and are executive producing the pilot, which will be shot in December. Warner Bros. TV is producing with John Wells Productions. Inspired by Abbott’s childhood growing up in a working-class family with eight children, the BAFTA-winning original series chronicles a dysfunctional family led by alcoholic patriarch Frank Gallagher (David Threlfall).

For the American version, the sprawling Gallagher family has been transplanted to working-class Chicago during today’s recession. With a mother who is AWOL and an alcoholic patriarch (Macy) who usually ends up passed out on the living room floor, 18-year-old daughter Fiona is left with the task of keeping her five younger brothers and sisters on the straight and narrow.