Emmy Rossum to star in Showtime pilot

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Emmy Rossum has joined William H. Macy in the Showtime drama pilot "Shameless."

Based on a long-running British series, "Shameless" revolves around a working-class Chicago clan dealing with the recession. The mother is AWOL, and the alcoholic patriarch (Macy) usually ends up passed-out on the living room floor. Their smart-but-unpredictable 18-year-old daughter Fiona (Rossum, 23 in real life) is tasked with keeping her five younger brothers and sisters on the straight and narrow.

Allison Janney ("The West Wing") plays a pivotal character who will become a love interest for Macy. Justin Chatwin will play a car thief who falls in love with Rossum's character.

Rossum's credits include "The Day After Tomorrow" and "The Phantom of the Opera." She most recently starred opposite Chatwin in "Dragonball: Evolution."