History Series / Shameless

* TheBeard: Mandy for Ian

*** [[spoiler: As of season 5, she has her current husband Gus and the now-returning Jimmy/Steve.]]

** Mandy's response to Lip having sex with a female pedophile (he was pretending to be younger as part of a self-directed "sting operation") is to get two of her brothers to start digging a grave in the woman's yard and tell the woman to leave before they finish, or else she's going in it

** In Season 4, Fiona has [[spoiler:her NiceGuy boss Mike and his exciting bad boy brother Robbie.]]

** Season 4's "There's The Rub": [[spoiler:Liam accidentally ingests cocaine left on the kitchen counter after Fiona and Kev use some, and Fiona is later arrested.]]

** Svetlana's son Evgeni. Given that she is a prostitute it is as yet unclear whether or not Mickey is actually his father.

** [[spoiler: Eddie in the Season One finale]].
** [[spoiler: Monica at the end of Season Two, but her attempt is unsuccessful.]]

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In combination with TheOtherDarrin; Mandy was originally portrayed as a PerkyGoth, but when she was recast she became more of a [[TheStoic calm]] BrokenBird, yet [[TranquilFury still angry]], who ends up being a {{Kuudere}}.

-->[[spoiler: "''Jimmy:''']][[note]]who had been sitting opposite that customer with his back to Fiona[[/note]] "I did."

* ActingForTwo: This increases in frequency as the series goes on, and even includes several of the series' protagonists:
** Karen Bryson, who plays Avril Powell (series 8-11), was in the first episode of series 5 as an alleged doctor who tells Frank that he's got aortic stenosis as revenge for her telling her ill husband to 'walk towards the light'.
*** Amusingly enough, Avril herself ends up actually working at the hospital.
** Michael Taylor, aka Billy Tutton, originally played young chav Spider back in series 4. The character is pretty much identical to Billy in all but name, and the ridiculous face tattoos he sports.
** Fans since the early series were rather perplexed when they saw Moya Brady, who plays temporary Jockey manager Cassie Western in series 3, playing crazy Muslim convert Ramona in series 11.
** A similar timeframe saw Robert Pugh, first appearing in series 2 as scummy far-right politician Bernie Creme, returning in series 10 as seedy magistrate Malcolm.
** Paul Oldham shows up as three different characters throughout the series; a bailiff, a Frank and a gangster, all three equally as horrible and unlikeable as each other.

* HeyItsThatGuy: [[{{FatherTed}} Mrs Doyle]] has aged like a fine wine since leaving Craggy Island all those years ago...
** Lesser examples include Vikram from CoronationStreet and PC Gary Best from Series/TheBill both having sexual relations with Ian Gallagher.
** Also the Series/{{Hollyoaks}} serial date rapist Andy Holt, in a similarly evil role, as Paddy's son and enforcer Donny Maguire.

* NamesTheSame: Liam Gallagher, unfortunately named after the loudmouth Oasis frontman apparently.
--->'''Billy Wilson''': "Really? Liam Gallagher? You'll never live that one down, lad..."
** There are also two very, very minor characters in the early series named Paddy and Micky, before the Maguires became prominent.

* TheOtherDarrin: Surprisingly little for a cast this large. The only proper example is Liam Gallagher; played by Joseph Furnace as a toddler for a couple of seasons, then Johnny Bennett as a growing lad.
** Donny and Joey, the two (named) Maguire sons when they were mainly antagonists in series 1-3, were played by a variety of actors and extras. Then they [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome disappeared off the face of the planet]].
** Carl also technically counts, as real life twin brothers Luke and Elliott Tittensor both took it in turns to play his character in series 1. You'll be damned if you can tell the difference between them though.
** Meena is portrayed by a different actor for the 10 minutes of screentime she gets at the tail-end of series 4. She was re-cast for series 5 onwards when she became a more prominent regular character.

* StarMakingRole: For James [[McAvoy]].

* TalkingToHimself: In one episode of Series 5, Sean Gilder played not only Paddy but also his estranged gay twin brother Noel, the characters often conversing in the same scene.

* ActingForTwo: [[spoiler: William H. Macy played ''both'' Frank and Jerry Gallagher, identical twins]]. Its greatly subverted when the character is never seen again after the first season, but is referred and talked about.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Carl gets his own day in the limelight when he goes to cancer camp, as part of another one of Frank's schemes. Carl's time there goes about as well as you'd expect.

* TheOtherDarrin: Emma Greenwell replaced Jane Levy as Mandy after the latter was cast in ''{{Suburgatory}}''.

** Frank's mother. And FRANK - headbutting Ian, general neglect...

* ArmoredClosetGay: Micky Milkovich.

** Lip also had Karen and Mandy in the later half of Season 3, [[spoiler:and in ''Frank The Plumber'' he tells Karen that he chooses Mandy, saying that she's good for him and that Karen is not, officially breaking it off with Karen. Although, seeing that in the next scene of the same episode Mandy hits Karen with her car and leaves her for dead, it's left in the air for now on whether Lip will stick with his decision.]]

* CallingTheOldManOut: Happens from time to time with Fiona yelling at her mom for trying [[spoiler: to take Liam away from them]], but Frank does this to his own mom in ''Can I Have A Mother'', yelling at her that he was sick of the way she was treating him. She doesn't care.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Season 3 is already shaping up to be more darker then the previous seasons, including a sub-plot with Estafania's brutal Cartel FauxAffablyEvil father coming to America, Frank becoming even ''[[UpToEleven worse]]'', and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Jimmy being forced to find a job]] by Estafania's father [[TheDragon right hand]].

* {{Jerkass}}: Normally its Frank, but as of Season 2, Lip.

* LawOfInverseFertility: Karen and Mandy both end up pregnant as teens when they have no interest in being parents, but Veronica very much wants to have a baby and can't get pregnant. RealityEnsues: Veronica quips that she's "had so many abortions, the next one's free." Complications during abortion can cause infertility, and the risk goes up with multiple procedures. While that is true, Veronica tells Kevin in one Season 3 episode that an STD (most likely chlamydia, which doesn't present symptoms in women until serveral weeks later. By that time, significant damage to the reproductive system has been done) she got from a rapper when she was a teenager is the culprit behind her infertility.

* PerpetualPoverty: Frank gets his money by abusing the worker compensation system but he spends it all on alcohol and paying for the damage he causes while drunk. As Lip points out they could easily pay their bills with that money. Instead Fiona, Lip and Ian have to work and steal enough to cover the bills and pay for food. Whenever the kids manage to save up money for the future, Frank finds it, steals it and spends it on booze.

* SexlessMarriage: Mickey and Svetlana. Unsurprising given that he's gay and the one time they did actually have sex was case of "[[CureYourGays corrective]] [[RapeByProxy rape]]" orchestrated by Terry. Svetlana seems genuinely frustrated that Mickey just [[IncompatibleOrientation isn't into her]], eventually reaching the point where she attempts to increase her allure to him by dyeing her hair red like Ian's and presenting herself to Mickey wearing a strap-on.

** Frank Gallagher's workaholic, old-style trade unionist, who abused Frank growing up and is shown, in true 1950s-60s Northern style, hitting him with a shoe for misbehaviour.

** Frank Gallagher's workaholic, trade unionist, old-style-Lancashire father, who abused Frank growing up and is shown, in true 1950s-60s Northern style, hitting him with a shoe for misbehaviour.

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Averted, possibly even inverted, with Jamie; easily the toughest, psychotic and most masculine Maguire son, but due to being in jail for most of his life (and his dad threatening any potential prison admirers), he is a virgin until he meets Karen.

* CouncilEstate: The entire show is set in the murky, declining Chatsworth estate, with its identikit 60's social housing, crumbling pavements, graffitied walls and ugly tower blocks dominating the skyline. And of course, chavs, thugs and old drunkards at every turn.

* ForgotToPayTheBill: A frequent occurrence. It is set on a CouncilEstate after all.

Imagine the ultimate CrapsackWorld. Nobody has a job or career. Kids have lost their parents, or the parents simply just don't care. The [[PoliceAreUseless Police are corrupt and incompetent]]. The houses and streets are shoddy and derelict. Assaults and burglaries are endemic, drugs and alcoholism are rife, people barely have enough money for food, and each day is a struggle. Sounds grim? Well, in 2004, writer Paul Abbott and others at Channel 4 planned to create a very dark drama about [[FootballPopMusicAndFlatCaps life]] in a 'sink estate' in [[FootballPopMusicAndFlatCaps Manchester]].

* TheSociopath:
** Frank's mother definitely, she really didn't care at all about those 2 college kids that died in the meth lab explosion that got her jailtime.
** [[spoiler:Karen]] seems to be falling under this route. Confirmed as of the penultimate episode of season 3. [[spoiler:A brain-damaged Karen admits to Lip that she can't "feel things inside".]]
** [[spoiler:Frank]] is increasingly one of these
* TheAlcoholic: Frank Gallagher (yep, still a drunk). [[spoiler:Lip]] also seems to be following this route during season 2. Like father, like son.

** [[spoiler: At the end of season 3 Ian leaves on a bus having stolen Lip's identity and joined the army.]].

** Shelia grows bored with her and Jody's sex life, what with being a dominatrix with a pegging fetish and Jody being a recovering sex addict who can only have sex missionary style without losing control. Shelia enlists Frank's help in convincing Jody to be more adventurous in bed. Jody warns them both that should he start, he won't be able to stop, and they won't like what happens. Eventually they wear him down, and it takes all of a week for his fetishes to blow passed Shelia's comfort zones.

** Fiona had to choose between bad boy car thief Steve and nice guy police officer Tony. For some time, she choose neither but [[spoiler:choose Steve/Jimmy at the end of Season 2.]]

* NotSoDifferent: In universe, Frank's opening monologue from series 11 reveals he thinks beneath the class and wealth differences he situation isn't a million miles away from... [[HMTheQueen Her Royal Highness]].

* LowerClassLout: The entire premise of the show, although most of the main characters are portrayed fairly sympathetically.

--->'''Frank''': "[[GulfWar Say what]] [[TheWarOnTerror you like about]] [[SaddamHussein Saddam]], he would've had that twisted bastard melted down. Tell TonyBlair: that's how you get my vote! [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets Pasty-face gimp]]! Write that down."

** Averted when [[spoiler:Mickey's father comes in and sees that Mickey and Ian are having sex, beats them up and basically forces Mickey to have sex with a Russian hooker. The next day, ''both'' Ian and Mickey are too shell-shocked.]]