As some of our favorite shows are winding down to an end, Showtime has stepped up to fill in the gaps. This past Sunday they brought back a longtime fan-favorite, “Shameless,” and premiered a brand new show, “SMILF.” Both premieres were an hour filled with badass (or maybe just bad) women, ridiculous antics and so many laughs.
The eighth season of “Shameless” was delayed due to a wage dispute between the show and Emmy Rossum, who plays Fiona Gallagher. She finally is getting paid the amount she deserves — especially seeing as she’s now stepped into the ring of directing as of last season. But clearly anticipation was only building while fans were waiting because the new season for the premiere on Sunday was the highest-rated since season three.
We jumped right back in with the Gallagher family falling back into routine following the death (SPOILER) of the matriarch, Monica. Fiona is diving head-first into her newest business venture — an old apartment building — and giving up Tinder while she’s at it. At the new building, she meets an incredibly involved tenant, Nessa (Jessica Szohr), who despite telling Fiona that she’s “not her type” has incredible chemistry and tension with her. Lip is working his hardest to maintain his sobriety, which includes taking seven mile runs to work at 5 in the morning. Carl is selling all of Monica’s meth she left behind so the family can have their “inheritance money,” as well as trying to keep himself in shape while he has the summer off from military school. Liam is still at his fancy private school but continues to be exploited by them in an effort to make their school look diverse. Ian is working hard to win back the affections of Trevor after ghosting him for Mickey. Debbie is thriving in her welder’s program but struggling to be a mom on top of it all. And Frank is back from his meth bender, where he became enlightened and returned to town to make amends for all the wrongs he’s made in the past.
Nothing all that exciting happened in the premiere, but just getting back in touch with the family was enough to make the episode fly by. They’ve set up what I can already tell is going to be a season of pure craziness, especially with the ladies this season. Fiona and Debbie (played by the always great Emma Kenney) were the showstoppers last season and both women have a big season ahead of them that will undoubtedly exceed expectations.
And speaking of incredible women, the premiere of “SMILF” (Single Mom I’d Like to F***) introduced us to another wild and unruly lady of TV. Frankie Shaw not only plays the protagonist, single mom Bridgette, but she’s also the show’s creator, writer and director of the pilot. The show is based off of Shaw’s short film of the same title.
Bridgette gives us a new representation of single motherhood — which is already hugely unrepresented in media. Bridgette isn’t necessarily a good mom. She makes a lot of really questionable decisions in the pilot — she leaves her two-year-old son, Larry Bird, home alone to fill up on junk food at the convenience store, as well as hooking up with a guy in the same bed Larry’s asleep in. But in the show, she’s not the only look into motherhood that we get. Bridgette’s own mom, Tutu (played by the incredible Rosie O’Donnell), is just as unconventional. She helps Bridgette out by taking care of Larry, and we get a glimpse that she’s struggling with her own mental health as well.
The pilot was hysterical and had moments that were so ridiculous that you just couldn’t help but laugh out loud — namely, when Bridgette masturbates to photos of Larry’s dad’s new girlfriend. Obviously, it’s not a representation of great motherhood, but it never claims to be. We’ve gotten shows and films on horrible dads and anti-hero patriarchs of the family, it’s about time we get a disgusting and horrible mom that you can’t help but root for. “SMILF” is unapologetic, honest and already one of my favorite fall shows.
