Shameless | |
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Season 5 | |
Showrunners | Paul Abbott John Wells William H. Macy |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Release | |
Original network | Showtime |
Original release | January 11 April 5, 2015 | –
Season chronology | |
The fifth season of Shameless, an American comedy-drama television series based on the British series of the same name by Paul Abbott, premiered on January 11, 2015 on the Showtime television network. Executive producers are John Wells, Paul Abbott and Andrew Stearn, and producer Michael Hissrich. Like all previous seasons, the season consisted of 12 episodes.[1][2][3]
The season picks up two to three months after the events of the previous season. Fiona, officially off house arrest, is still a waitress at the Golden House diner, which has been renamed to Patsy's Pies and is now under the new ownership of Sean Pierce (Dermot Mulroney); Sheila leaves town after her house burns down; Frank, Sammi and Chuckie move into the Gallagher household; Mandy moves to Indiana with Kenyatta; and Ian remains in denial of his bipolarity as Mickey continues to look after him. When Ian begins showing increasingly erratic behavior, Mickey gets Ian to admit himself into a psychological evaluation ward.
Fiona begins a relationship with local musician Gus Pfender (Steve Kazee). After a one-week relationship, Fiona and Gus impulsively decide to get married. Her problems are compounded when Jimmy—going under the alias of Jack—suddenly returns to Chicago; Jimmy reveals that after boarding Nando's yacht, he had been forced to do slave labor in South America. Fiona has sex with Jimmy, who pleads with her to accompany him on a trip to Dubai, which she refuses. Jimmy later returns, stating that he cancelled the trip to stay with her; Fiona, recognizing the problems of their relationship, ends things with him for good. Fiona later learns from Jimmy's colleague Angela (Dichen Lachman), that the client had cancelled the Dubai trip—not Jimmy. Fiona and Gus' relationship strains following Fiona's infidelity, and Fiona ends up developing feelings for Sean, who is a recovering heroin addict.
Meanwhile, Debbie begins dating Derek, a boy she bonds with during boxing lessons. Debbie goes on birth control and has sex with Derek, despite being advised against doing so within 48 hours; this ultimately results in Debbie becoming pregnant, to Fiona's dismay. Lip and Amanda continue a non-exclusive relationship, though Amanda eventually begins showing feelings for Lip, which he ignores. When Lip pursues his older professor, Helene (Sasha Alexander), Amanda angrily lashes out at him for ditching her. Kevin and Veronica struggle with parental life, and the two go through a brief break-up period, in which Svetlana strikes an unlikely bond with Kevin. Kevin and Veronica eventually make amends at the end of the season.
At the Gallagher home, Sammi takes charge as the family's caretaker. She begins openly showing a disdain for Frank, her eyes opened to her father by her half-siblings. Frank wants to get rid of Sammi and convinces Carl, who has begun dealing drugs, to use Chuckie as a drug mule. In the second half of the season, Frank bonds with his doctor Bianca (Bojana Novakovic), who is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bianca refuses to endure chemo, instead wanting to experience a debauched lifestyle that Frank introduces her to. They eventually begin a romantic relationship. As Bianca's health begins deteriorating, she and Frank take a trip to Costa Rica. While Frank is sleeping, Bianca leaves a thankful goodbye note for him before walking into the ocean to presumably drown herself.
Under Frank's advice, Carl gets an unaware Chuckie to transfer heroin, but Chuckie is quickly caught by the police. Enraged by Chuckie's arrest, Sammi turns on the Gallagher clan and calls the cops on Carl. In court, Chuckie is sentenced to ninety days in juvenile prison while Carl, refusing to give up his drug dealers, is sentenced to one year. In another attempt to get retribution on the Gallaghers, Sammi reports Ian to the military police for his military insubordination. Ian is subsequently arrested. Angered by Sammi's actions, Mickey vengefully drugs Sammi with roofies until she passes out unconscious. When Mickey wrongly assumes the roofies have killed Sammi, he and Debbie hide Sammi's body in a moving storage container. Meanwhile, Ian receives a visit from Monica, and the two briefly hitchhike out of the state after he is released.
Ian returns to the South Side and reunites with Mickey. However, Ian breaks up with him, affirming that he doesn't want to put Mickey through his bipolarity. The fifth season closes on a cliffhanger, with Sammi suddenly showing up and attempting to shoot Mickey with a gun. The shootout ultimately results in both Mickey and Sammi's incarceration.
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No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
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49 | 1 | "Milk of the Gods" | Christopher Chulack | Nancy M. Pimental | January 11, 2015 | 1.77[4] | |
Lip returns home from college to find the neighborhood moving swiftly toward gentrification. Frank, still recovering from his liver transplant, is living with Sheila. He continues to ignore Sammi, who has begun acting out in order to get her father's attention. Sammi and Sheila clash. Fiona is engrossed in her job at the Patsy's Pie diner, and she has a friendly relationship with her new boss, Sean. Fiona flirts with Davis, a local band player. At the Milkovich house, Ian helps a pregnant Svetlana take care of baby Yevgeny, while Mickey and his brothers run a moving truck scam. Ian, hypersexual as a result of his condition, has a few anonymous sexual encounters. Veronica struggles with parental life; she is frustrated by her newborn babies, as well as Kevin's obsession with them. It is revealed that Frank is trying to produce his own beer, called Frank's Milk of the Gods. | |||||||
50 | 2 | "I'm the Liver" | Sanaa Hamri | Krista Vernoff | January 18, 2015 | 1.76[5] | |
Officially off house arrest, Fiona cuts off her ankle bracelet. Lip starts his new job, with taxing consequences. Sheila considers an offer from lesbian land developers who want to buy her home. Frank tries to talk her out of it and begins warning everyone of the neighborhood's impending development. The father of the boy whose liver Frank received invites Frank and Sheila to a special father's day dinner with all the other organ recipients; Sammi ends up crashing the dinner, further enraging Sheila. Ian, Mickey, and Mandy plan revenge against a homophobic military funeral protest. Kevin bonds with Svetlana. Debbie continues to struggle with friends and boys. Fiona develops feelings for Sean and confronts him about it. Sean reveals he has feelings for Fiona, but he cannot date her, believing Fiona to be a "chaos junkie." | |||||||
51 | 3 | "The Two Lisas" | Peter Segal | Sheila Callaghan | January 25, 2015 | 1.96[6] | |
Mandy makes plans to move to Indiana with her abusive boyfriend, Kenyatta; Ian wants Lip to help convince Mandy not to move. Lip and Mandy have sex, but Lip remains emotionally unavailable; Mandy leaves with Kenyatta the next day. Fiona agrees to go to a concert with Davis, but when his girlfriend shows up, Fiona makes a play for his bass player, Gus. Debbie throws a party at the Gallagher house and invites Matt. Debbie has sex with Matt while he is sleeping; she does not fully understand that her actions constitute as rape. In exchange for new brewery equipment, Frank sets the owner of a junkyard up with Sammi under the pretense that she'll sleep with him. An outraged Sammi initiates a fight with Frank and Sheila outside the house; Frank's beer still suddenly ignites and blows up Sheila's house. Sheila jumps in her newly purchased RV and flees town, finally fulfilling her dream of travelling the world. | |||||||
52 | 4 | "A Night to Remem... Wait, What?" | Richie Keen | Davey Holmes | February 1, 2015 | 1.26[7] | |
Frank arrives at Lou's to pick up his six figure insurance settlement, but he is confounded when told he arrived the previous day. Realizing he has no recollection, Frank retraces his steps, uncovering a night of insanity. Lip visits Amanda and her family at their home in Miami; Amanda's father expresses interest in giving Lip a paid internship. Carl starts a new job as a drug dealer, but quickly realizes he's in over his head. Debbie attends boxing lessons and meets another boy, Derek. Ian goes overboard when he starts stealing suitcases from the airport baggage claim. Veronica feels guilty when she experiences an orgasm while grinding with another man at a dance club; she realizes how much she misses Kevin's attention. Fiona and Gus continue to hit it off, and the two wind up getting married on a whim. | |||||||
53 | 5 | "Rite of Passage" | Alex Graves | Etan Frankel | February 8, 2015 | 1.64[8] | |
Homeless and penniless once again, Frank takes advantage of his liver donor's parents. Sammi's trailer is impounded; Sammi believes that Frank will buy her a new trailer. When Sammi discovers that Frank is bluffing, she chases Frank and tries to stab him. Debbie uses her new boxing skills to beat up Holly and Ellie. Carl continues to flounder at his drug dealing business. Fiona wrestles over her hasty decision to marry Gus, and her concerns are further compounded when a colleague overdoses on heroin. Fiona reveals her marriage to Lip. Kevin and Veronica continue to experience relationship issues. Ian's promiscuity and recklessness drives Mickey to the brink, and he demands Ian enter a mental rehabilitation facility. Upon hearing this, Ian flees Mickey's house, with Yevgeny in tow. At Patsy's, Fiona finds Jimmy sitting at one of her tables. | |||||||
54 | 6 | "Crazy Love" | Anthony Hemingway | John Wells | February 15, 2015 | 1.26[9] | |
Jimmy reveals to Fiona that he was forced into slave labor in South America, but ultimately escaped. Jimmy tells Fiona that he's still in love with her, and Fiona reveals her marriage. The two end up having sex, putting Fiona into an emotional crisis over Gus and Jimmy. Sammi takes charge in the Gallagher household. Frank's recent escapades catch up with him, and he is hospitalized for mistreating his liver. Lip reestablishes himself at college. Kevin and Veronica decide to split up. Ian is on the run with Mickey and Svetlana's baby, but he quickly spirals out of control and lands in the hands of the police. At the police station, Mickey convinces Ian to admit himself at the psychological evaluation ward. | |||||||
55 | 7 | "Tell Me You Fucking Need Me" | William H. Macy | Nancy M. Pimental | March 1, 2015 | 1.44[10] | |
At the psych ward, Ian shuns Fiona and Mickey when they visit. Mickey turns to alcohol to dull his longing for Ian. Jimmy prepares to depart for Dubai, and he presses Fiona for a decision. Lip is met with financial aid difficulties. Carl takes Chuckie under his wing. Frank returns from the hospital and asserts himself at the Gallagher home, to Sammi's dismay. Reaching a boiling point, Sammi shoots Frank in the arm in order to prove that he loves her. Debbie and Derek begin dating. Veronica moves into the Alibi, while Svetlana moves in with a newly separated Kevin. After Fiona discloses her infidelity to Gus, he punches Jimmy upon meeting him. Jimmy tells Fiona that he has called off the trip to Dubai, and that he only wants a life with her, but after deliberation, Fiona tells Jimmy that he needs to let her let him go. | |||||||
56 | 8 | "Uncle Carl" | Wendey Stanzler | Krista Vernoff | March 8, 2015 | 1.60[11] | |
Ian is released from the ward. Frank humors Sammi while scheming for a way to be rid of her. Short on funds, Lip convinces Kevin to revisit their marijuana-selling days. After a heartfelt plea, Lip is able to bide time concerning his financial woes at school. Veronica and Svetlana bond. Kevin sleeps with a sorority girl from Lip's college. Ian flushes his lithium pills down the toilet. Debbie confronts Mickey about his alcoholic denial. Mickey reunites with Ian. Fiona realizes that she wants to fight for Gus, but he's not ready to commit or forgive; he leaves on an extended tour with his band. Carl is tasked by his boss to transport heroin to Michigan; in an attempt to get rid of Sammi, Frank convinces Carl to use Chuckie as a mule, then secretly calls the cops on Chuckie. The plan is successful, and Chuckie lands in jail. Soon after, an enraged Sammi calls the cops and Carl is also arrested. | |||||||
57 | 9 | "Carl's First Sentencing" | Christopher Chulack | Etan Frankel | March 15, 2015 | 1.62[12] | |
At college, Lip meets a foxy new professor, Helene, and their relationship quickly intensifies; Lip discovers that Helene is in an open relationship with her husband. Kevin finds a new calling at Lip's school, though it ultimately leads him to wanting Veronica back. Despite effort from Fiona, Carl botches his sentencing hearing, and he is sent to a juvenile correctional facility with Chuckie. Mickey is able to convince Ian to get back on his meds. Ian gets a job as a dishwasher at Patsy's. Fiona consoles Sean when he receives news that his ex-wife is moving out of town with his son, Will. Due to his probation, Sean is unable to move with Will. While undergoing treatment at the hospital, Frank's doctor, Bianca, reveals she has terminal cancer. The two bond over a grand adventure that spans 48 hours. | |||||||
58 | 10 | "South Side Rules" | Michael Uppendahl | Sheila Callaghan | March 22, 2015 | 1.67[13] | |
Debbie and Derek agree to consummate their relationship, and Debbie goes on birth control. Though Debbie is informed that the birth control pills don't take effect until after 48 hours, the two have sex that night. Frank falls for Bianca. Lip butts heads with Amanda, revealing his relationship with Helene. Kevin unwittingly sells synthetic marijuana to a handful of college students, which leads to one student jumping out a second story window. Lip turns Helene for an assist, and she dishes out some harsh truth. Lip ultimately kicks Kevin out of the dorm; Kevin returns to Veronica. After an emotional day with Sean, Fiona drifts further away from Gus. Ian and Mickey have a romp over their differences, before making love at an old rendezvous. When Mickey and Ian return home, they discover that Sammi—wanting to exact revenge against the Gallaghers—has called the cops on Ian for his military insubordination. | |||||||
59 | 11 | "Drugs Actually" | Mimi Leder | Davey Holmes | March 29, 2015 | 1.43[14] | |
Ian is arrested for going AWOL and destroying federal property, while Sammi is on the outs with the rest of her siblings. Mickey and Debbie hatch a revenge plan against Sammi that involves drugging her, but the plan takes a turn for the worst when it appears Sammi had died from the drugs. They hide Sammi's body in a moving truck; it is later revealed that Sammi is actually alive. Fiona continues to get closer to Sean, and discovers that Gus is returning to Chicago. Lip enjoys the benefits of his comfy romantic arrangement with Helene. Kevin and Veronica mend their relationship. Frank realizes that he's not ready to die along with Bianca, and after a failed attempt at trying to get her help, the two head for Costa Rica. After a disclosure of Ian's condition, the family convinces the army officials to release Ian. Later, Ian receives a visit from Monica, who proclaims that no one will ever understand him but her. After Ian is released into Monica's custody, the two hitchhike out of the state. | |||||||
60 | 12 | "Love Songs (In the Key of Gallagher)" | Christopher Chulack | John Wells | April 5, 2015 | 1.55[15] | |
Bianca and Frank live the high life in Costa Rica as Bianca's health worsens; Bianca thanks Frank for keeping her happy. The next morning, Bianca leaves a note for Frank and supposedly drowns herself in the ocean. Angry that Lip continues to ignore her for Helene, Amanda punches Lip and breaks up with him. Debbie discovers that she's pregnant; Fiona insists that the baby be aborted, to Debbie's chagrin. Fiona and Gus reconnect, but she rejects him for Sean. Fiona confronts Sean and declares her feelings for him; Sean coldly tells her to grow up. Monica and Ian's road trip ends up at her meth-dealing teenage boyfriend's property. Ian decides to leave and returns home to break up with Mickey, stating that he doesn't want to put Mickey through his bipolarity. Sammi returns and attempts to shoot Mickey, but fails. |
On February 18, 2014, Showtime announced the series would be renewed for a fifth season.[3] Production on the first episode began on July 3, 2014 with the first table read,[16] with principal photography commencing on July 8, 2014.[17][18]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the fifth season a 92%, based on 12 reviews. The critics consensus reads, "Settling into its fifth year with a irascible sense of fun, Shameless hints that the Gallaghers won't become a functional family unit anytime soon - but audiences will adore them all the same."[19]