The trailer for Shameless season 7 is finally here! And it is full of jokes, laughs, and good old fashioned Gallagher shenanigans. With the show still a month away, the release of the trailer will at least give fans something to watch over and over again until the season premieres in early October.
Last we saw the Gallaghers, Frank was being dumped off of a bridge into a freezing river. Fiona was left heartbroken over her ruined wedding, with Sean walking off to focus on his son. Lip was standing outside alcohol rehab, leaving us questioning if he would actually go through with it. Ian fought to get his job back, with his co-workers standing up for him. Debbie was learning how difficult it is to be a mother. And Carl appeared to be turning away from a life of crime to focus on impressing the father of his girlfriend.
Now we have two minutes and thirteen seconds worth of new footage. And you can watch it right here.
With this new footage, we can take a few things on what we can expect from the Gallaghers and friends moving into the new season. Let’s get right down to it!
Frank is out for revenge
The trailer opens with Frank rolling into the Alibi Room in a wheelchair. He starts talking about how he must have fallen into the river in a drunken state, but eventually comes to learn the truth. Kevin, Veronica and Svetlana likely say something to help jog Frank’s memory, since I do not think they would flat out tell him they dumped him in the river.
And from there, Frank is going to seek revenge. He feels betrayed by his family and will do anything to make their lives miserable. This includes putting in a stone wall in a doorway, which will result Fiona and Lip breaking out a pick ax and a sledgehammer. Classic Gallaghers.
Also we learn Frank goes out and recruits a new family, some of which look to be coming from a homeless shelter. In typical Frank fashion, he will likely end up staying at someone’s house, and calling them family. He even calls them by the names of his actual kids. Through his actions in the trailer, it is evident Frank will be going head to head with his real family in season seven in some pretty entertaining ways.
We are going to see a new side of Fiona
Fiona is done. She has taken care of this family for so long, and has done so while not taking care of herself. So now she wants everyone else to step up. She calls a family meeting to dish out responsibilities, and makes everyone responsible for paying bills.
She also is in a bit of denial over Sean walking away. While talking to V she says there is nothing to talk about, and it is clear she just does not want to deal with the past. Instead she appears focused on moving into the future, and she will be doing something that she has never done before: putting herself first.
In every season up until this point, Fiona has had a man. This new Fiona first version of the character appears set to go at it solo. Also in the first six seasons she has felt everyone’s actions were her responsibility. But now, she just wants to get her life on track. It will be a new, fresh take on the character that appears to have a lot of promise.
Debbie is cracking under the pressure of motherhood and adulthood
Debbie was not having an easy time dealing with motherhood last season following the birth of Franny. And it appears things are not getting better for the youngest Gallagher girl. Not only does she have motherly duties to worry about, but now Fiona is dropping the news that she needs to help pay the bills if she wants to live there.
This is going to lead Debs to resort to stealing. My guess is she will try stealing baby products for Franny, as well as other stuff she could sell in order to pay her part. But that is not going to end well for her. She trips and falls as she tries to rush out a store, and shouts “please don’t call the police”.
This sets up to be a rough season for Debs. The responsibilities are going to pile up, and it does not appear she is ready to handle them at all. But what did she expect would happen after having a baby at such a young age?
Carl’s attempt to win over Dom’s father isn’t going well
Last season Carl appeared to be headed down the path of good living. Him and Dom essentially became boyfriend and girlfriend, and Carl was trying everything he could to impress her father, who happens to be a police officer. A police officer who is not a fan of Carl, given his history.
His relationship with Dom has clearly continued. He is sitting at the kitchen table when her father comes walking in. Carl responds with “”Luther, what’s up?” in a fairly excited tone, suggesting he was happy to see him. That would mean he is continuing his efforts to impress Luther. But that pleasant greeting quickly turned into Carl running for his life.
According to Luther, Carl gave Dom gonorrhea. And he is not happy with Carl, leading to Carl bolting from the table. The chances of Carl impressing Luther after this are unlikely. Now we do not know for sure it was Carl who gave Dom the STD, as it is always possible she got it from someone else. Could Carl end up learning this, and end his efforts to convince Luther he is right for his daughter?
I sure hope so, as I want the old Carl back. Carl is at his best when he is being the bad boy, and while Dom and her father are around, that seems like it is not going to happen. This scene could be the turning point that Carl needs to get back to what he does best. But even if that does not happen, it is clear he has an even bigger hill to climb if he is going to convince Luther of the fact that he is a good man.
Lip did not learn much in rehab
Unfortunately for Lip, he is starting to act more and more like Frank. It appears he did not take much away from his time in rehab. Sure he has some new rules about his drinking, but the bottom line is he is still drinking. Plus he is still in denial over the fact that he is an alcoholic. All classic Frank signs.
So how do we know he did not learn much in rehab? Well first things first, when he is going over his new drinking rules, he is sitting at the bar at the Alibi Room. Something tells me it is after seven and he will be getting himself a drink.
Later on in the trailer it appears to be late at night, and he is having a conversation with Fiona. She is going on a rant about how she has not put herself first, and always looked out for everyone else. And Lip is sitting there looking quite sad, holding a beer. So Lip is still clearly drinking, and will not admit that he has a problem. So rehab did not help, and Lip looks to be continuing down the road of becoming Frank 2.0.
Liam will be hanging out with Frank
This one is minor, but worth noting. Some of the best Liam scenes have come when he is hanging out with Frank. And in the trailer, there are two shots of them together. So Liam looks to be exempt from Frank’s revenge as he is too young to have had a part in dumping him in the river.
So could this be the start of Liam’s first real storyline? Will he become a member of Frank’s fake family? More Liam and Frank is certainly welcome, and this writer will certainly be interested to see if he gets to play a part in the Frank arc given the two are hanging out in the trailer.
Shameless will return on October 2nd. Until then, this trailer will likely be played over and over again by Shameless fans to help hold them over. I know I will be watching it several times before October arrives.
What was your biggest takeaway from the trailer? Tell us in the comments!