https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62jmRYCta08

It’s hard to think that “Shameless,” a funny, wonderfully melancholy series about life dangerously close to the poverty line, has somehow stayed afloat for six seasons without losing its quality too much. After all, this is Showtime, a network that has a reputation for keeping original programming on longer than they should. “Homeland” is now a former shell of its once glorious self, and “Dexter” is notorious for not only having one of the worst finales, but completely collapsing after killing off an essential character to the show in the early days of the program.

“Shameless” will start its seventh season in the winter. The show may have peaked in its excellent fourth season with Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) coming close to the end of his life after his liver gives out from years of alcohol and drug abuse, but what made the series so fun to begin with still remains, even if this last season was a bit weaker than previous installments.

This season of “Shameless” saw the Gallaghers grow up and begin to disband. Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) is let out of the Juvenile Detention Center and continues a life of crime with his new friend Nick (Victor Onuigbo) to provide funding for himself and eventually his family.

Ian (Cameron Monaghan) tries to recover from his long-lasting relationship with Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) and tries to find a potential job opportunity while fighting bipolar disorder.

Debbie (Emma Kenney) and Fiona (Emmy Rossum) are ready to go to war with each other to determine what is right for Debbie’s pregnancy and Fiona’s engagement to Sean (Dermot Mulroney), a heroin addict who manages a nearby diner.

Lip (Jeremy Allen White) is reaching the end of another relationship and begins going on a bender, similar to what his father Frank does when he’s angry.

It’s almost cartoonish to describe what is going on, but that’s what makes this one of the most enjoyable series Showtime has put out in a long time. It’s a tragedy that knows it is crazy ridiculous so along with it brings on the self sabotage and debauchery we’ve come to expect. But maybe, just maybe, it’s beginning to run out of steam.

Any “Shameless” fans  can see where certain storylines will eventually lead, which is disappointing considering how the show’s third and fourth seasons were nearly perfect. However, there’s a glimpse shown in the final moments of the season that could make for a very exciting season next year.

After six years of Frank screwing with his family to gain leverage for himself, there might be a microscopic heart inside him after all. Yes, he showed up uninvited to the wedding only to spoil what should be a festive celebration in an attempt to get payback at Sean for beating him mercilessly, but he potentially stopped his daughter from ruining her own life. “It takes a junkie to know a junkie” Frank boldly exclaims to the family before Lip clocks him and locks him in the trunk, only to be thrown into the Chicago River moments later. This doesn’t excuse all of the horrible trauma he put his family through, but there’s a faint spark inside that perhaps he does, at some level, care for his children.

Within that same finale, Fiona is finally alone. After spending three seasons with Jimmy, another season and a half with her ex-husband Gus and now Sean, Fiona is single for the first time in a long time. This could lead to some strong character development for her as she tries to make herself happy without a romantic partner.

Lip, standing outside a rehab center, comes to a realization that he doesn’t want to be like his father. It’s an excellent scene highlighting that he not only needs help, but he’s willing to give this a try. The Gallaghers are growing up, and we’re getting close to the final days we get to spend with their misadventures.

“Shameless” is still a fun show through all of the mud its characters get dragged through. It’s becoming harder to justify a subscription to Showtime as most of its programming becomes disappointing the last (“Ray Donovan,” “House of Lies,” etc.), but the performances that Macy, White and Kenney give are unlike anything else on television right now. It’s murky, cynical and, of course, comical.

It’s incredible that the show has aired for so long without even the slightest complaint that Rossum has not earned a single Emmy nomination for Fiona. Rossum delivers an immensely powerful performance; audiences feel every heartbreak, tragedy or happiness that comes Fiona’s way. It’s an often maddening, lovely, tragic roller coaster of a series. It may have coasted a bit this year, but it’s not completely impossible for “Shameless” to get back to its glorious self. Long live the south side of Chicago.