When it Comes to the Gays, “Shameless” Has Nothing to be Ashamed of

With news that British TV show Shameless is finally going to get a U.S. remake, AfterElton.com thought it time to introduce the hit British program to American audiences who don’t already follow the show on the Sundance Channel. So they asked me, one half of the popular AfterElton.com vlog Gay in the UK, to take you through the gay ups and downs of Chatsworth estate’s finest.

It’s impossible to know what the American version of Shameless that Showtime is producing will be like or how closely it will hew to the original, but the following rundown of what happened to the gay and gay-adjacent characters on the UK version will at least give American audiences a taste of what they might expect from this groundbreaking program.

Depending on which episode you catch, Shameless might be a hilarious comedy or a serious drama, but whatever the case, it's always full of strong language, violence and sex, giving it a late night time slot on one of Britain's more progressive channels.

Created by acclaimed writer Paul Abbott, the series, currently in its seventh season, is based on Abbott’s own tough upbringing in the Northern English town of Burnley. Centered around Frank Gallagher and his ever growing family, Shameless is a gritty and at times surreal portrait of Britain’s underclass.

It’s also won a host of awards, is one of the most successful UK television dramas today, and has just been commissioned for an eighth Season of 22 episodes, which is enormous for British television, where series can run as few as six episodes.

Queer commentators consistently praise the show’s portrayal of GLBT sexuality as commonplace, and “unbourgeois.” Both gay and straight characters occasionally play the other side of the fence, and while they don’t live in a liberal paradise, victimization is never a theme.

Unlike many dramas which can take a while to cover gay topics, Shameless featured central gay storylines from the very first episode. Fifteen-year-old Ian, the middle son of the Gallagher clan, has an early baptism by fire when his older brother Lip discovers that Ian might be gay in the classic "What's this gay porn doing under your bed?" plot device.

Actor Gerard Kearns as Ian Gallagher

Not exactly accepting of his brother’s sexuality, Lip encourages Ian to visit the local hussy Karen Jackson to try and set him straight. But when Karen’s angry father catches them together, Ian’s chances are scuppered.

However, Ian is far from sexually inexperienced as he is having it away with the local shopkeeper, who is also a married Muslim man named Kash. It’s not long before Kash’s wife discovers the truth, but she resigns herself to allowing the affair, as long as it remains a secret.

Alas, Kash is eventually forced to fake his own death after leading his family into financial ruin, and thus leaves both Ian and the series.

Actor Chris Bisson as Kash Karib