the youngest Gallagher child, whose parentage is ambiguous due to his mixed-race heritage. (seasons 9–11; recurring season 8) Kate Miner as Tami Tamietti, Lip’s love interest and later mother to his child. (seasons 10–11; recurring season 9) Production Development Shameless was adapted from a long-running, award-winning British television comedy drama of the same name. HBO began developing an American version of Shameless after striking a deal with John Wells in January 2010. By April 2010, development had moved to Showtime. John Wells Productions taped a pilot episode for the cable network in December 2010. The show's creator Paul Abbott said, "It's not My Name Is Earl or Roseanne. It's got a much graver level of poverty attached to it. It's not blue collar, it's no collar." Showrunner John Wells fought efforts to place the show in the South or in a trailer park. "We have a comedic tradition of making fun of the people in those worlds," he said. "The reality is that these people aren't 'the other'—they're people who live four blocks down from you and two blocks over." William H. Macy stars in the lead role as Frank Gallagher, joined by Emmy Rossum as Fiona and Justin Chatwin as Steve, former co-stars from Dragonball Evolution. Paul Abbott, whose semi-autobiographical telescript was the basis for the UK pilot, is credited as an executive producer on the U.S. version. In April 2010, Showtime green-lit the series with a 12-episode order. The Sheila Jackson character (a romantic interest for Frank), was first portrayed by Allison Janney in a pilot; however, in late August 2010, the role was recast and Joan Cusack ended up playing Sheila for the aired episodes. Production began in mid-September. A preview of the pilot aired on December 12, 2010, after the Season 5 finale of Dexter. The first season officially began airing on Showtime on Sunday, January 9, 2011. The series is set in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side. Most episodes begin with one of the main characters breaking the fourth wall to berate the viewer about missing previous episodes. Then the show cuts to a recap montage of plot points relevant to the current episode, followed by the opening title sequence. Filming The series is mostly filmed at a Los Angeles studio, with some scenes filmed in Chicago. Initial shooting of the second season began on July 5, 2011 and premiered