I was curious about the U.S. adaptation of the series Shameless, which stars William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum and Justin Chatwin, but I'm not sure I'll become a regular viewer after seeing the pilot.

The show's about a permanently down-on-their-luck family from Chicago who will do anything and everything to survive, and about the same to have a good time. It's got plenty of energy and Rossum—whose series it appears to be much more so than Macy's—displays nice range, but I'm afraid the show's edginess feels pretty forced at times, even desperate. I didn't find it too funny.

Jeremy Allen White supplies a gratuitous booty shot in the pilot...shameless!

There is a gay angle worth nothing—17-year-old Cameron Monaghan (pictured in a detail from a promo shot) plays an army dreaming ROTC boy who's having a secret affair with his boss, a (hot) married Muslim man (Pej Vahdat) and whose sexuality is discovered by his tough but loving big bro (Jeremy Allen White).

Their conversation about anal sex as it relates to smoking might serve as a litmus test for who will like the series and who will turn the channel. For me, it started out kind of realistic, with the older brother not understanding homosexuality at all, and ended kind of sweet, with the younger brother putting him in his place and both sharing a laugh. But I didn't think it played naturally.

The upside of the show's effort to be racy is that there's plenty of eye candy—White looks nerdy, but not so much from behind, and a sex scene between Rossum and Chatwin (pictured) leaves to the imagination only what's absolutely necessary.

I'd be curious to hear from anyone with their opinions once the first episode airs on January 9 on Showtime.