Set in Illinois, Shameless is an American comedy series inspired by the British comedy show of the same name. The show was produced by John Wells and premiered on television in January 2011. The hilarious comedy series follows the story of an aggressive and bold family who make zero apologies and do whatever they wish to do.
Over eleven seasons, she brought up an ensemble of actors who added immensely to it. In the lead, the show has William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher and Emmy Rossum as Fiona Gallagher. Frank is the drunk, incompetent patriarch of the family, whereas Fiona is the responsible eldest who gets custody to look after the former’s children.
The show finds dark humor in the most uncomfortable family situations and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It revolves around Frank, the drunk irresponsible father of six kids, Fiona, Philip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam.
Frank wastes his days looking for fights or misadventures in the small town in the South of Chicago while his six kids try to figure out life alone without any real authority figure. Like any show on-air long enough to have eleven seasons under its belt, it must have witnessed some ups and downs and some hot controversies.
Amanda ‘Mandy’ Milkovich
Amanda’s character in the show was the female version of the ‘bad boy’ concept. She was tough and acted cold but obviously, had a soft, sweet side to her too. She was one of the main characters in the show, a classmate of Ian’s, totally in love with him, though things turn out all that well for the two.
Amanda Milkovich, or Mandy, had a tough life at home and the outside did not treat her much better either. She was sexually abused at home by her drunk father, and in the later seasons, even her romantic relationships did not turn out all that sweet.
In the eleven Seasons of Shameless, her character probably noticed drastic developments in her story arc and personality, where she went from being the badass from the South to a meek and submissive girl obeying the words of her toxic boyfriend.
Some Minor Tweaks in the Show
Though she was present throughout the eleven seasons of the show and was completely involved with the Gallagher family, her character went through some minor but very noticeable changes right after season one of the show got over. It turns out it was not just her personality that underwent change but also her entire physical existence.
If fans of the show go back to the first season of the show and then watch the second season next, they may see a slight change in the voice, appearance, and portrayal of the character of Mandy. This may be because the actress playing Mandy in the show’s firshow’s first season and Levy was recast at the start of the second season of Shameless.
In the second season of Shameless, actress Greenwell took over and killed Amanda’s character. Throughout the ten years of its release, the show bid farewell to many of its characters, including Emmy Rossum, the actress who played the role of Fiona Gallagher.
Even so, for most of the seasons, M, for most of the season’s Andy’s role in the shows is noticeable and big enough, so the question arises, why did Jane Levy decide to leave such an iconic character behind? In an interview after the actress the show, Jane revealed that though Mandy’s character was iconic and popular, she just had to leave the show to get her hands on a role she thought would be more promising for her.
Right after leaving Shameless, we saw Jane Levy starring in another sitcom, Suburgatory; Tessa Altman was offered the role in the show. She revealed excitement and could not wait to be a part of the sitcom. It got to an extent where she decided it would be best for her to leave Shameless and prepare and focus entirely on her role in Suburgatory.
Shameless ran for longer than the other sitcom, which turned out to be more popular; Jane admitted to not feeling any regrets, which is great for her because, as it turns out, her Suburgatory role ended up landing her some more big roles in the industry.
What Happened to Mandy?
Her character of Mandy in Shameless was continued and was led by actress Emma Greenwell, who played the role till season five but ended up leaving after. She remained a regular on the show till the fifth season, but after Greenwell left, her character was completely removed from the show, and she did not return, even in a minor role.
With Greenwell, they made the character take up a job as an escort who, while having some fun with a client, ended up killing him in the act of defense. She hid the body with Ian’s help and left the place for good.
Season six was the last fans saw of her, after which she did not return, even in the finale season, not even for Ian’s wedding. Jane leaving the show and Greenwell replacing did not turn out so bad for the show. It did not seem to affect the show or the character at all.
Jane’s Mandy seemed more like a young girl who had gone through too much early on in her life, and Greenwell’s Mandy seemed like an even darker version of the same tortured young girl. Either way, the change in the actors playing the role did not hurt the character and continued to be just as iconic.
Also Read: Where is Shameless Filmed? All About The Locations
