SHAMELESS
Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET
The pandemic has forced everyone to be inventive, and to do things differently. Mostly, it’s been terrible to experience and endure – but on television, every once in a while, you witness something that clearly ought to be continued once the pandemic is over. The democratic National Convention roll call vote of states, recorded in all 50 different states so that we could see the nation as a true United States, was one such example. It ought to be required from now on, rather than just have delegates speak up from the crowded convention floor. And another impressive innovation has been seen this season on Showtime’s Shameless, which had padded its pandemic-shortened production schedule by concocting highlight reels of sorts, showcasing specific characters and actors and showing their adventures, and their growth (or lack of it), over the show’s 11 years. It’s been wild to watch these. Not only does it demonstrate the talent of this superb cast, but gets to recycle some killer moments that beg to be sought out and seen again. Tonight’s installment of Shameless is a new episode, continuing the season’s main narrative of this show’s final season – but the “filler” installments have been so entertaining, I’m almost a tad disappointed.