Channel 4's Shameless is part-way through its sixth (I think) series. It is increasingly being suggested that it is someway past its best. I have to confess to mixed feelings.
As with every show I manage to catch from the beginning, as soon as it strays into a third series, I get irate: why can't they be more like Fawlty Towers? This is largely snobbery - I can't stand the idea of more people liking the stuff I do - but also because I genuinely believe that it is easy for a show to lose its brilliance over time. Shameless, itself has lost a lot of its edge as Paul Abbott has become less involved with the writing.
On the other hand, the latest series of Shameless has now begun to dig some dark seams indeed. In the earlier series, the stories involving Paddy's drug addiction, and Mandy and Joe's violent relationship would have been resolved in a single episode. Now, as an established series, there is the freedom to explore them in more depth.
What is interesting about the addiction storyline is that it poetic justice for a thuggish character, yet the viewer is rooting for him to overcome the addiction. There is still the possibility that the show will become an embarrassing parody, and I do hope it ends before that happens, but its evolution beyond the original concept definitely not something to lament just yet.
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