The Best Gay Storyline You're Not Watching

Searching for great television where gay characters are a focus, not simply around for a laugh or a supportive phone call, can be frustrating. While there has been progress over the past decade, it is still difficult to find a show that really dedicates significant time and care to its gay characters and their stories. Which is why when I find one, I can’t help but shout about it from the rooftops. Shameless has easily cleared that bar since its premiere in 2011, but in the past year the show has taken things to another level, becoming one of the best gay-inclusive shows on television.

Shameless has never really gotten the critical acclaim many of its fans believe it deserves. Airing on a premium cable channel limits its viewership and it’s never broken through as a “water-cooler” show in the way that other premium cable shows like Game of Thrones, Girls, or Homeland have. But everyone that enjoys great LGBT storytelling should be watching Shameless.

The show focuses on six (now seven) Gallagher siblings living on the south-side of Chicago and their drunkard father (William H. Macy, who recently took home the show’s first Golden Globe). Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monagahn) is the gay sibling, described by Vanity Fair as the “anti-Kurt Hummel.” Since late in Season One, Ian has been hooking up with Mickey Milkovich (Noel Gallagher), memorably called the “dirtiest white boy in America” by a friend of the Gallaghers.

Ian has been sexually active since the pilot, came out to his siblings in Season One, and has never had an issue with his identity. Mickey, despite having sex with Ian on pretty much any solid piece of furniture, regularly punched anyone who implied that he wasn’t straight.

While the first two seasons were enjoyable, the storyline moved into serious dramatic territory when Mickey’s violent homophobic father found Ian and Mickey together and forced Mickey to marry a Russian prostitute named Svetlana (Isidora Goreshter). Forced to confront the instability inherent whenever one-half of a pair is closeted, Ian begs Mickey in vain not to go through with it before leaving town heartbroken to join the Army at the end of Season Three.

Ian is absent from the first part of Season Four, giving Mickey the opportunity to face a future without him, which Mickey can hardly stand to contemplate. When Ian returns to Chicago acting erratically and working as a Go-Go dancer at a gay club, Mickey jumps at the opportunity to watch out for him, while also experiencing a safe space to be out for the first time in his life.

The end of Season Four reached new heights, with Mickey coming out at his baby’s post-baptism party and igniting a bar brawl that sent his father back to prison. This resulted in a brief moment of happiness for Ian and Mickey before Ian fell into a depressive episode due to his previously undiagnosed bipolar disorder, inherited from the Gallagher’s usually absent mother. Season five has shown Mickey trying to deal with and manage Ian’s symptoms while Ian stays in denial over his illness. In the most recent episode Ian was committed to a mental health facility for evaluation after he had a psychotic break and endangered Mickey’s child.

While the show has strong actors throughout the cast, Monaghan and Fisher both stand out as exemplary talents, as evidenced by their burgeoning movie careers. Monaghan has been acting since the age of three and his experience shows, giving the character an authentic, lived-in feel. His relationships with his siblings, particularly older brother Lip, show off an easy brotherly affection and his recent scenes dealing with bipolar disorder have been standout. He’s even improved his less than great Go-Go dancing skills between last season and the current one.

Fisher is even better and should be in the discussion for awards recognition. He’s taken an initially recurring role sketched out as “gay thug” and turned in such an emotional, heartbreaking performance that Mickey has become one of the most important characters on the show. His ability to convey Mickey’s depth of emotion without words is essential to making the storyline succeed.

The pair also deserve credit for their commitment to the physicality of the roles. Not just the sex scenes, which they pull off with ease, but with the small touches and interactions that any couple in love would have and that straight actors all too often have trouble with when playing gay.

The writers and directors for the show admirably continue to highlight and expand the storyline as the show has continued. Any show with such a large ensemble cast (ten regulars as of season five) has to allow storylines to expand and contract, but the most recent episode dedicated nearly half the show’s running time to Mickey and Ian. They arguably have the second most prominent storyline this year behind eldest sister Fiona’s love life.

With the show already renewed for a sixth season, we can be confident that Ian and Mickey’s love story have more twists and turns to come. If you like gay storylines and aren’t already watching Shameless, it’s not too late.