Binge-worthy

While flipping around looking for something to watch recently, I stumbled upon an episode of 'Shameless'.  Two guys were passionately hugging and kissing each other, so I was like "Whoa... what's THIS show about?"  

I kept watching for a few minutes and in the next scene I recognized actor William H Macy.  I seemed to remember him being nominated (and possibly winning) some award for his role in 'Shameless'.  Since there's very little to watch these days I decided I'd watch the show starting from the beginning.  I figured I'd binge-watch a handful of episodes, little did I know the show has 8 seasons, starting back in 2011.  We didn't have Showtime until a little over a year ago so I had no knowledge of it back when it started.

In a nutshell William H Macy plays a raging alcoholic and drug user whose life consists of drinking himself unconcious and scheming to get money.  He has 6 children ranging in age from 21 years to 21 months old, who basically take care of paying the bills, feeding each other, and keeping the home together with lots of odd jobs, some legal, some not-so-much.  Their mother ran away shortly after the 21 month old was born.  Having little-to-no parental direction or discipline, the 6 kids are no strangers to drinking beer and smoking cigarettes and joints.  But despite their unconventional childhood, their family bond is strong.

While my synopsis may sound depressing, the show is full of twists and turns and unexpected intersections.  Not the least of which is a neighbor named Sheila, played by the genius actress Joan Cusack, who has agoraphobia and hasn't left the house in 5 years.  Also, in the 1st episode 17 year old Lip (short for Philip) discovers his 15 year old brother Ian is gay and has been having sex with his married boss who owns/runs the convenience store where Ian works.

The 1st night I binge-watched 4 episodes.  The 2nd night I binge-watched 6 episodes.  The 3rd night I gave Spouse a quick review of the characters and he watched the last 2 episodes of season 1 with me. We're currently nearing the end of season 2.

Its a really interesting show, and I enjoy how the writers make the characters good enough that you route for them and want them to succeed, but keep them 'human' by also showing their faults and mistakes.  And as a bonus, there's a fair amount of shirtless, good-looking men in the series, including a couple full-frontal nudity scenes.

If you're looking for a long, enduring series to watch, I recommend 'Shameless'.  If you don't have Showtime, at least some (maybe all) of it is available on Netflix too.