More4 acquires US version of Shameless

William H. Macy stars as Frank Gallagher in U.S. adaptation of the hit Channel 4 series

More4, Channel 4's digital channel, has today announced it has acquired the U.K. premiere broadcast rights to the U.S. version of the Bafta award-winning series Shameless from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.  Titled Shameless USA for the U.K. market, the series will receive a U.K. premiere on More4 in spring 2011. The announcement was made by Paul Mortimer, More4 and Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.
 
William H. Macy stars as the Gallagher family's alcoholic patriarch, Frank in Shameless USA - from Emmy® Award-winning executive producer/writer John Wells (ER, The West Wing, Southland) - and is every bit as dysfunctional as his British counterpart, created by award-winning writer Paul Abbott (State of Play).

Set in Chicago, Shameless USA finds the sprawling Gallagher clan struggling to make ends meet in today's recession. Not helped by the fact that their mother is AWOL and father is either passed out on the living room floor or with agoraphobic girlfriend Sheila (Oscar nominee - Joan Cusack), oldest daughter Fiona (series star Emmy Rossum) is left to the impossible task of keeping her five younger brothers and sisters on track.

Wells and Abbott have collaborated on the adaptation and are executive producers of the U.S. series. Andrew Stearn (The West Wing, Southland) is co-executive producer. The 12 X 60' series will debut on U.S. network Showtime in January 2011.
 
Paul Mortimer, More4 said: "More4 is delighted to add another drama series to its slate of high-end American programming. We're pleased to be able to bring free to air, quality drama premieres to our discerning audience and in 2011 we expect to add more titles to the mix. Shameless USA is the latest critically acclaimed U.S. series to air exclusively on More4, and we're proud to have William H. Macy and his cast-mates sitting alongside other award-winning talent on the Channel."

Jeffrey R. Schlesinger said: "We couldn't be more pleased to have More4 as the home for Shameless USA. The original Shameless grew and thrived on Channel 4 for many years, and it's only fitting that the U.S. version, from acclaimed producer John Wells, should also be presented to U.K. viewers by the Channel 4 family, which has also been the U.K. home to Wells' previous acclaimed series such as ER, The West Wing and Southland."
 
Paul Abbott said: "I'm thrilled to hear that More4 has brought back the American reformat version of Shameless. Not because it forms another revenue stream for any of us, but because John Wells and his stunning team of writers have evolved something that we in the U.K. know implicitly and cherish into a piece of entertainment that has become its own thing. That's a really hard thing to describe, but when you see the weight of the casting talent and the absorption of Shameless's core key component - for me at least, which is HUMANITY - then I'd defy a single viewer to be disappointed by this cultural translation. I cannot tell you how moved, relieved and entertained I was the first time I saw a raw assembly of the complete episode. It's epic and transporting, just like ours was, but with completely different paint brushes."
 
John Wells said: "I have hoped to bring Paul Abbott's marvelous Shameless world to American audiences ever since Paul first told me what he was up to with Shameless over seven years ago. We're honored to be working with Paul, and to have the luxury of spending some time with his wonderful characters."

In addition to Macy, Cusack and Rossum, Shameless stars Justin Chatwin, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Cameron Monaghan, Jeremy Allen White and Laura Slade Wiggins. The series is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Shameless is distributed around the world by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.