Shameless: Each Gallagher Ranked By Their Skills As A Hustler

If there’s one thing the Gallagher clan is known for, it’s their ability to hustle. The family at the center of Showtime’s Shameless has spent the past decade entertaining viewers with their over the top shenanigans. They’ve never been well off, so they have to make the best of whatever opportunities come their way.

That has usually means stealing, lying, and tricking the people who cross their paths, even if they care about them. Each member of the family has shown their skills in this area, as it’s taught to them from a young age. Of course, some are better at it than the other Gallaghers.

9 Franny

There was simply no way that Frances “Franny” Gallagher wouldn’t be at the bottom of the list. While the family is taught how to fend for themselves at an early age, Franny is still too young for that. At the end of the previous season, she was only four years old.

Back in season one, Carl was told that it was time to start pulling his weight and that’s when he was ten or so years old. Franny also hasn’t shown much potential in this department. She couldn’t even pull off being a “bad girl” for Peppa, causing Debbie to hire a foster child instead.

8 Monica

Monica is the Gallagher that was seen the least throughout the series. However, it’s clear that she knew what she was doing as a hustler at least a little bit. Consider that after her passing, she left her children several pounds of meth that she stole from an old boyfriend as all the proof you need.

Although it’s not witnessed on the show, there are many stories told about her wild nights with Frank, where they’d get into all sorts of hijinx. She was hit or miss at other times, helping Debbie get custody of Franny but failing to take Liam when she showed up in season one.

7 Ian

It certainly feels like Ian has been through a ton on the series. From officially coming out as gay to dealing with bipolar disorder and everything in between. As the third oldest sibling, he was shown to be a big help with getting money for the family in the early stages of the show.

His time squatting at an abandoned house while working at a bar showed his resiliency and ability to survive. He’s also charismatic and can get people to believe in him, as he did with the “Gay Jesus” storyline. Alas, Ian doesn’t utilize his hustling ability as often as some of his brothers and sisters.

6 Lip

It probably comes as a surprise to see Lip listed so low, though that’s more telling of the quality of his family’s skills than a detriment on his. Lip was the one with all the potential who could make something of himself but alcoholism and bad decisions got in the way of that.

He’s typically second-in-command behind Fiona and did a lot for the family, like using his brains to tutor and earn money that way. While Lip knows how to hustle, he’s also his own greatest enemy. He gets in his own way and ruins most of the things that he does with that hustle.

5 Debbie

If hustle could just be based on ambition and ideas, then Debbie would easily rank near the top. Ever since she grew up and had a kid of her own, Debbie has been doing everything she can to make money. She ruled the house with the iron fist of the ultimate cheapskate just to save a few bucks. She even went as far as to wear a diaper at work so she could get the money she was owed without bathroom breaks.

There was also her relationship with her “sugar mama” Claudia, returning clothes system she came up with, and trying to get death benefits from Peppa. While they’re all solid concepts, like Lip, Debbie gets in her own way and ruins all of these situations.

4 Carl

Considering how the series has progressed, it’s probably shocking to know that Carl is actually still alive. He was always a destructive kid who was headed down a bad path. Carl was often a pawn for Frank’s schemes, including one where he faked having cancer. Though it was Frank’s idea, Carl had his own fun with it.

Carl also became a drug dealer, got involved in gang culture, and utilized his cousin Chuckie for some of his shenanigans. Recently, he has even started scamming as he attempts to become a cop, while also trying to find a cheap way to get into West Point.

3 Liam

As the youngest of the Gallagher children, Liam might seem like an odd choice to place so high. However, if you look at the show, he has been hustling for as long as he could walk and talk. He’s a big part of Frank’s plans like his homeless shelter or when Frank used Liam’s race to get him into a better school.

Liam has also hustled his way into small successes before gaining it on a bigger scale when he turned a potential school bully into a profitable client, working as his manager. He also found a way to earn enough money to not get kicked out of the house by Debbie.

2 Fiona

With parents like Frank and Monica, Fiona had to become the caregiver for the rest of her siblings at a young age. That automatically makes her a strong hustler. It wasn’t like she was able to hold down a steady job at the time, so she had to come up with creative ways to keep her family from being homeless or starving.

Fiona was the one who came up with whatever system the siblings used to get through life, including how they’d steal to get what they couldn’t afford. Like Debbie, Fiona also eventually dreamed big. She used her skills as a hustler to get involved in real estate, which actually worked out well for her until she bit off a bit more than she could chew. Still, she made out with a $100,000 buyout, which is pretty good.

1 Frank

Frank is the epitome of who the Gallaghers are. There is never a time when he’s not trying to pull off some kind of scheme to make a quick buck. From insurance scams to welfare fraud to any other way that he can think of to cheat the system, Frank has literally done it all.

He is also not afraid to use his children for his personal gain, including losing Liam due to a bad bet and even stealing Carl’s semen to trick his girlfriend at the time. It seems like every season, Frank finds at least two or three ways to come into money that he shouldn’t, even if he squanders it all quickly.

About The Author