Ep 1. Episode 1

Frank Gallagher is a single father to six children, all of whom he actively neglects. Frank is an alcoholic, rarely sober, and barely contributes to his children's lives. Fiona, the eldest, is left to bear the weight of the household duties and take care of her siblings.

As the episode opens, Fiona finds herself struggling to get her younger brother, Liam, to eat or take his medicine. She wakes to a house filled with debris from the previous night's party. An unknown one-night stand is passed out in the living room, and one of the children has a stomach bug.

Despite her exhaustion, Fiona saves the day by making breakfast for her siblings and getting them off to school. Her reverie is short-lived, however, as her ex-boyfriend, Steve, shows up at the door. Steve is a charming, affluent businessman who is smitten with Fiona. Despite her reservations about his wealth and her own background, Fiona finds herself falling for him again.

Meanwhile, Frank is passed out in a local bar when his daughter, Debbie, comes to find him. Debbie pleads with her father to come home because a social worker is coming to check on them. Frank drunkenly stumbles home and is unhelpful when the social worker arrives. Fiona and her siblings hide Frank in the abandoned house next door, and the social worker leaves satisfied that the children are safe and well-cared for.

While Frank is in the abandoned house, he meets a neighborhood child named Karen. Karen is a free-spirited teenager who is unafraid of the Gallagher children's neglect. She and her father, Eddie, run a local convenience store and bookie operation. Eddie has a strange fascination with Frank, and it is hinted that the two have a history.

As the episode comes to a close, Fiona finds out that Steve is not who he says he is. She also learns that her younger sister, Lip, is a genius, but he has no aspiration to go to college. The episode ends with Frank waking up in the abandoned house, alone and still drunk.

Overall, Shameless season 1 episode 1 sets up the characters and their struggles with poverty, addiction, and neglect. The episode is raw, gritty, and unapologetically honest in its portrayal of poverty in America. The characters are complex and nuanced, with each struggling to find their way in a world that has abandoned them. While the show is at times difficult to watch, it is also engaging and thought-provoking.