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The Best Episodes of Shameless

Every episode of Shameless ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Shameless!

Binge this in 4d 15h•Peaking at 9.0/10

The story of a young group of siblings pretty much abandoned by their parents, surviving by their wits - and humor - on a rough Manchester council estate. Whilst they won't admit it, they need

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Shameless Season 2 Episode 5 - Episode 5
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #1 - Episode 5

    S2:E5

    Sheila asks Lip to water the plants for a neighbour who's away on holiday, but the house is burgled and Lip is arrested by a bent copper, stitched up and charged. Frank goes to the police station and makes matters a lot worse.

    Director:Dearbhla Walsh
    Writer:Phil Nodding

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  2. Shameless Season 3 Episode 8 - Episode 8
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #2 - Episode 8

    S3:E8

    In preparation for her wedding to Frank, Sheila commissions the building of a conservatory in her back yard - but she suddenly remembers her first husband is buried under the patio. Veronica's last stab at IVF on the NHS fails, so she hatches a macabre plan to raise cash for private treatment.

    Director:Paul Walker
    Writer:Emma Frost

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  3. Shameless Season 2 Episode 6 - Episode 6
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #3 - Episode 6

    S2:E6

    Lip is sleeping with Mandy while she pretends to be Ian's girlfriend to hide the fact that he's gay. However, after Mandy falls pregnant with Lip's baby everyone thinks Ian's the dad and the Maguires welcome him to the family - with the threat of castration if he doesn't marry her. Fiona gets mugged on her way home from a drunken night out.

    Director:Dearbhla Walsh
    Writer:Daniel Brocklehurst

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  4. Shameless Season 8 Episode 17 - Episode 17
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #4 - Episode 17

    S8:E17

    A new gang has rolled into Chatsworth with an unlikely mission - to save the souls of the community.

    Director:Paul Unwin
    Writer:Tom Higgins

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  5. Shameless Season 9 Episode 4 - Episode 4
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #5 - Episode 4

    S9:E4

    Micky ends up becoming the victim of a gay bashing, leaving him mentally and physically scarred whilst enjoying a night out with the boys. Carl falls for Clem on the night out. Aidan has a new group of older friends, headed by gang leader Frasier Kane. Events end up spiraling out of control one evening on the estate and Aidan is faced with a life-changing decision. Ruby Hepburn shows up on the estate and is revealed as being Mimi's niece.

    Director:Luke Watson
    Writers:Ed McCardie, Jonathan Harvey

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  6. Shameless Season 9 Episode 5 - Episode 5
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #6 - Episode 5

    S9:E5

    Somebody from Jamie's past arrives on the estate, looking for a favour to be returned. D.S. Brooks, is currently suspended pending some serious charges and Jamie doesn't know if he can go through with what he wants and the safety of his family ends up being in the balance. Aidan skips school after he is haunted with nightmares about his doing nothing to stop Frasier attacking his school teacher. After Frasier turns his attention to Letitia, Aidan ends up feeling like he has no choice but to act. Micky has to deal with a life-changing decision after a debt collection goes badly wrong.

    Director:Andrew McDonnell
    Writer:Jimmy Dowdall

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Shameless

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  7. Shameless Season 9 Episode 9 - Episode 9
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #7 - Episode 9

    S9:E9

    When Chesney arrives home from hospital, he finds his cousin Toof waiting there for him. After he reveals his plan to close the shop and take Chesney back to Bradford, Chesney refuses to agree to it. Chesney decides that it is time for him to strike out on his own and live life to the full.

    Director:Paul Cotter
    Writer:Tom Higgins

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  8. Shameless Season 9 Episode 10 - Episode 10
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #8 - Episode 10

    S9:E10

    Jamie and Shane come up with a plan to steal a stash of scratch cards from the Lottery rooms in Manchester. Frank ends up being recruited along with Aidan and Ruby but things don't go to plan. Letitia and her friends form a girl group. Karen is determined to prove to Mimi that she can handle the Maguire business in Jamie's absence.

    Director:Justin Molotnikov
    Writers:Ed McCardie, Jonathan Harvey

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  9. Shameless Season 11 Episode 14 - Episode 14
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #9 - Episode 14

    S11:E14

    After spending months in jail, Frank returns to Chatsworth hoping for a welcome home party. However, he discovers Monica has took up residency at the Gallaghers - and is expecting his tenth child, and the return of a few faces from his past heralds the end of an era. Meanwhile, it's business as usual at Chesco's, as an old face re-instates herself.

    Director:David Threlfall
    Writer:Jack Lothian

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  10. Shameless Season 1 Episode 3 - Episode 3
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #10 - Episode 3

    S1:E3

    Kev accidentally proposes to Veronica, and although he soon admits he's still legally married to Roxy, they decide to go ahead with a fake ceremony anyway in order to claim a small inheritance from Veronica's father.

    Director:Jonny Campbell
    Writer:Daniel Brocklehurst

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  11. Shameless Season 2 Episode 1 - Episode 1
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #11 - Episode 1

    S2:E1

    Frank is forced to take a job as a window cleaner when his father arrives. But is the window cleaning round really the best form of employment for Frank? Meanwhile Karen eyes up Kev down the pub.

    Director:David Evans
    Writer:Paul Abbott

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  12. Shameless Season 2 Episode 2 - Episode 2
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #12 - Episode 2

    S2:E2

    Frank takes a call while partying at Kev and Veronica's, but only much later does he pass on the message that social services are coming to discuss fostering. After a mad clean up, the social worker arrives with a child in tow. Next morning, the boy collapses at breakfast. After an anxious rush to hospital, it is found that he is suffering from nothing more life-threatening than the digestion of last night's leftover hash cake.

    Director:Peter Lydon
    Writer:Daniel Brocklehurst

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  13. Shameless Season 2 Episode 7 - Episode 7
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #13 - Episode 7

    S2:E7

    Ladies Night at the Jockey proves to be more trouble than its worth. For one thing its full of blokes which only serves to anger Jez. Fiona eyes up footballer Ryan but when she wakes up the next morning it isn't Ryan who is lying next to her. Instead its the less-than-desirable Joey Dawson. Fiona decides to take contraception but before she can actually take them Liam swallows them and then Marty traps Joey's arm in a door. At the hospital they discover that Joey's arm is broken but Liam is fine and there will be no ill effects. A follow up visit from social services isn't as simple for the Gallagher family. The inspector is Katrina a woman who went to school with Fiona and who's life was apparently hell because of Fiona dubbing her "Sperm Whale". But the family pass the visit but Katrina reveals she's engaded-to Joey Dawson. At the Jockey Joey confesses he loves Fiona while Ryan lets slip to Katrina that Fiona and Joey were all over each other the night before.

    Director:David Evans
    Writer:Amanda Coe

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  14. Shameless Season 2 Episode 8 - Episode 8
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Episode 8

    S2:E8

    After walking out of her job at the nursery, Fiona confesses to Veronica that she is pregnant by Craig and hasn't told him. Frank falls foul of two shifty accident claims salesmen after being hit in the mouth by Kash's shop door. Kash and Yvonne cannot afford to pay out and are forced to close the shop.

    Director:David Evans
    Writer:John Griffin

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  15. Shameless Season 5 Episode 7 - Episode 7
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Episode 7

    S5:E7

    When there is a gas leak at the Gallaghers along comes a sexy fireman named Sean. He gets the attention of Ian and Mandy but which one of them will win the race to get the Sean into bed? Also, Carl finds himself in a risky situation.

    Director:Fraser Macdonald
    Writer:Stephen Russell

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  16. Shameless Season 5 Episode 11 - Episode 11
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Episode 11

    S5:E11

    When Paddy is caught on camera for an armed robbery and could face 20 years inside, Mimi begs him to call his brother, Noel. He's the only one who can help. But Paddy has a dark history with his sibling and would rather go to jail than ever set eyes on him again. As the reality of his situation dawns, he realises he has no choice. The Gallaghers find themselves three grand in debt to Mimi after Frank inhales a box of her drugs, and it seems that Ian is the only one who can bail the family out. But when his business venture fails, Ian finds he has nowhere to turn. In an act of desperation, he steals money from the till at the Jockey but things quickly spiral out of control. The status quo gets altered in the police house when Carrie becomes a sergeant. Tom is peeved that Carrie is exploiting her new position, but a chance comment leads him to discover a dark secret in Carrie's past, which means he can regain the upper hand...

    Director:David Threlfall
    Writer:Stephen Russell

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  17. Shameless Season 5 Episode 15 - Episode 15
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Episode 15

    S5:E15

    While enjoying another secret rendezvous, Debbie and Tom are forced to come to the aid of an assaulted woman, but things go horribly wrong when Tom gets arrested on suspicion of being the attacker. Only Debbie can supply his alibi, but not without putting both of them in a compromising position. There's a gruesome showdown between Shane and Paddy over Shane's girl, leaving Mimi torn between her love for her husband and the love she feels for her son. When Norma wakes up in a stranger's jogging bottoms after a night on the tiles, she sets off on a wild goose chase to find out whoever it was she slept with.

    Director:Paul Walker
    Writer:Ed McCardie

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  18. Shameless Season 6 Episode 1 - Episode 1
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - Episode 1

    S6:E1

    Ian is attacked and left shaken and confused as to what he could have done to provoke it. When the stranger strikes again, Ian is left hospitalised and there's more bad news when he regains consciousness: he's got amnesia. Suddenly he's an alien amongst his own family and friends, and even his own sexuality is a mystery. Meanwhile it's Debbie's 16th birthday. Tom decides it's time to go public with their relationship, but Debbie has doubts about whether their relationship was ever really serious. Kelly has bad news for Shane about her pregnancy; Frank and Monica are faced with an impossible challenge when they hear the voice of newborn baby Stella: but do they want to know what she has to say about her parents and Chatsworth? And Ian's amnesia brings him a whole new perspective on his life, leaving him questioning if Chatsworth is the place for him after all.

    Director:David Richardson
    Writer:Ed McCardie

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  19. Shameless Season 6 Episode 15 - Episode 15
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - Episode 15

    S6:E15

    After Debbie throws him out for the night, Frank ends up in a confessional booth where he hears a neighbour's shocking confession. Frank finds himself drawn into what is going on.

    Director:Lawrence Till
    Writer:Ed McCardie

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  20. Shameless Season 6 Episode 16 - Episode 16
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - Episode 16

    S6:E16

    Patrick continues to lose his grip on his marriage and his family.

    Director:Lawrence Till
    Writer:Alex Ganley

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  21. Shameless Season 8 Episode 14 - Episode 14
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #21 - Episode 14

    S8:E14

    Paddy returns to the Chatsworth estate in a coffin, but are the residents in for a shock? Elsewhere, Karen decides that a childrens entertainment business is the way forward and Mimi gets a new strap-on!.

    Director:Michael Keillor
    Writer:Jimmy Dowdall

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  22. Shameless Season 8 Episode 15 - Episode 15
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - Episode 15

    S8:E15

    Avril is busy keeping secrets from her family; with no job and no money, but always a gift to hand, something doesn't quite add up. Mimi has designs on fit jogger Neil, but he's unsure of her advances - because he only wants sex. Mimi is keen to spice up her sex life, but Karen raises concerns about Neil's calorific role-play. When 12-year-old Bean tries to shoplift, Chesney phones her dad, Gorky, who is Chesney's delivery driver, but Chesney soon becomes concerned for Bean's welfare and decides to try and rescue her. And the law finally catches up with Avril when a bailiff arrives; she breaks down and confesses leaving Jackson gobsmacked. Will he and Letitia promise to support her and help pay back all the money she owes?

    Director:Michael Keillor
    Writer:Ian Kershaw

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  23. Shameless Season 8 Episode 16 - Episode 16
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #23 - Episode 16

    S8:E16

    While cleaning the windows, Jackson spots Letitia kissing Dee Davies in her bedroom. Jackson goes berserk, attacking Dee in front of a social worker who's waiting to assess him and Avril as foster parents. Frank isn't much use in the parent department, staggering to the Jockey and leaving Carl to nurse pox-ridden Stella. Drunken Frank then leaves the pub and accidentally gets on a mini-bus, waking up in a synagogue. He's discovered by Isaac, who promises not to report him because Frank's been sent from God. Frank thanks Isaac for his advice and hospitality by stealing his candelabra and legging it. Karen's fed up with how she's treated in her own pub and plots to get her power back with a card game. Meanwhile, an ambulance is called for the smallest Gallagher. Will she pull through unharmed?

    Director:Sarah Punshon
    Writers:Tom Higgins, Lee Warburton

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  24. Shameless Season 9 Episode 2 - Episode 2
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #24 - Episode 2

    S9:E2

    Not everyone is pleased to see Carl after he shows up on the estate as a qualified policeman. Jackson finds himself being accused of falsely claiming benefits, resulting in the loss of his job which throws his marriage into chaos. Frank is given the job of becoming a double agent, so that he can get information from Carmen about the future plans for the estate. The residents end up agreeing to a deal with Carmen to save the estate. Kelly loses her baby.

    Director:Luke Watson
    Writers:Ed McCardie, Tom Higgins

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  25. Shameless Season 9 Episode 6 - Episode 6
    8.0/10(2 votes)

    #25 - Episode 6

    S9:E6

    Jackson agrees to help Shane on a robbery job at a supermarket. Gloria's brother Dominic, a whisky preist, causes mayhem on the estate. Chesney regrets making a comment about Carl's girlfriend Clem.

    Director:Tim Whitby
    Writer:Mark Brotherhood

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Best Episodes Summary

"Episode 5" is the best rated episode of "Shameless". It scored 9/10 based on 2 votes. Directed by Dearbhla Walsh and written by Phil Nodding, it aired on 2/1/2005. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Episode 8".