"Aunt Ginger" is the third episode of the first season of the American television comedy drama Shameless, an adaptation of the British series of the same name.
The series is set on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and depicts the poor, dysfunctional family of Frank Gallagher, a neglectful single father of six: Fiona, Phillip, Ian, Debbie, Carl, and Liam.
In the episode, Fiona must locate their estranged aunt as a social security worker suspects Frank might be cashing her checks.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.90 million household viewers and gained a 0.4/1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
At the market, Ian (Cameron Monaghan) is approached by his classmate Mandy Milkovich (Jane Levy), who wants to start a sexual relationship with him after he took revenge on a teacher for her.
As she tries to contact Aunt Ginger, Fiona is constantly visited by Steve (Justin Chatwin), who wants to repair their relationship and is frustrated that she is now with Tony.
When Fiona tries to get a car for Wisconsin, Frank is forced to reveal that Aunt Ginger actually died 12 years ago while she was doing drugs with him.
After having the woman live at the Gallagher home for a few days and changing their pictures, they present her as Ginger and use her dementia as an advantage to avoid questions.
And though I stopped watching British Shameless after the pilot, I don't think it's necessarily a coincidence that this is the first episode of the Showtime version that largely clicked for me.
"[6] Alexandra Peers of Vulture wrote, "The emerging formula of the series should make it less interesting to watch, but the opposite's the case — we're waiting to see what Frank will get into this time.