Showtime Greenlights Shameless

LOS ANGELES: Showtime has ordered 12 episodes of Shameless from Warner Bros. Television, with John Wells set to executive produce the new series, based on the British show of the same name.

The American adaptation will star William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum, with Allison Janney tapped for a recurring guest turn. The show, created by Paul Abbott, traces the lives of a very unconventional family. Abbott will executive produce with Wells. Production is due to begin at the end of this summer.

"We’re so happy to be bringing this richly textured drama about a dysfunctional blue-collar family to Showtime with two of the greatest television producers working today, John Wells and Paul Abbott," said Robert Greenblatt, the president of entertainment at Showtime Networks. "And to have William H. Macy and this incredible cast bringing these original characters to life is an embarrassment of riches."

"Paul Abbott and I have been plotting to bring Shameless to American audiences for several years now and we’re delighted that Bob Greenblatt and Showtime have given us this wonderful opportunity," said Wells. "We’re remarkably fortunate to get to work with this exceptional cast led by Bill Macy and Emmy Rossum. We can’t wait to get started bringing the raucous humor, ribald characters and political incorrectness of Paul’s Shameless to Showtime."