Shameless

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Showtime, Sunday, Jan. 12, 9 p.m.

The name of the show says it all. This struggling Chicago family will do just about anything to get by. The drunken sociopathic dad (William H. Macy) will literally do anything, while his kids (the resplendent Emmy Rossum as de facto mom Fiona, Jeremy Allen White as the sexy scalawag genius Lip, Cameron Monaghan as the gay Ian) have a moral compass, even if it’s a bit defective. The show is appallingly funny and occasionally moving and both the writing and direction are as good as anything on pay cable. This is the beginning of the fourth season, so feel free to catch up on Netflix beforehand.