It's the show the Pop Confidential crew can't stop talking about, Showtime's hit dramedy Shameless. On today's Pop Confidential podcast, Andrew Stearn, president of John Wells Productions, and one of the executive producers of Shameless, joins Jamey Giddens, Luke Kerr, Jillian Bowe and Regan Cellura to talk about his company's bombastic adaptation of Paul Abbott's long-running British series.
The PC gang couldn't wait to dish with Stearn about the series Regan compares to crack, because it's so addictive. Tune in to hear them find out from Stearn what first attracted John Wells Productions to the original U.K. series about the wonderfully dysfunctional Gallaghers.
Stearn reveals the journey his team went on to adapt Shameless for the U.S. market. You won't believe which broadcast network the project was originally slated for before it was pitched to HBO and then finally Showtime.
Find out how John Wells and Stearn got an actor of William H. Macy's caliber to basically lie down on the floor in a drunken stupor, as the unrepentent Frank Gallagher for theShameless pilot. Stearn also gushes about how the rest of his stellar cast came together, from Emmy Rossum (Fiona), to Justin Chatwin (Steve/Jimmy), to Shanola Hampton (Veronica), Steve Howey (Kev), Ethan Cutkosky (Carl) and all the rest, Shameless boasts arguably the best ensemble on television.
Stearn also praises Joan Cusack's standout performance as the tragicomically agoraphobic Sheila (a part originally slated for Alison Janney), as well as newcomer Laura Slade Wiggins, who plays Sheila's attention-seeking daughter Karen. The gang got Stearn to open up about the shocking ending of episode 11, featuring Frank and Karen. Was it hard to get Showtime to let them go there?
Speaking of going there, Stearn also weighs in on the love triangle between Kash (Pej Vahdat), Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) and Mickey (Noel Fisher), teasing that another Gallagher sibling is going to find out about Ian's secret life in the season finale. Will he or she be as cool with Ian being gay as Lip (Jeremy Allen White) has been?
And what about Steve's own secret life that he's hiding from Fiona. Will it be Debs (Emma Kenney), or Officer Tony (Tyler Jacob Moore) who busts Steve out?
As if all that wasn't enough to fill a fun, half-hour chat, Stearn also talks about the other series John Wells Productions has on the air, TNT's Southland, starring Regina King, which was recently renewed for a fourth season. Does Stearn feel we've entered a time where gritty dramas like Shameless and Southland can only be told on cable? You'll have to download the podcast to find out!
Be sure to check out the season finale of Shameless this Sunday night, March 27 on at 10 pm ET on Showtime. Southland airs on TNT, check your local listings.