The F Word (Shameless)

In its original American broadcast, "The F Word" was seen by an estimated 1.70 million household viewers with a 0.7 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.7 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[2] This was a slight increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was seen by an estimated 1.64 million household viewers with a 0.7 in the 18–49 demographics.^[3]

"The F Word" received highly positive reviews from critics. Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "with the Gallaghers receiving an eviction notice, the gentrification storyline is creeping closer to becoming a major plot point, reaffirming "The F Word" as the end of season six's prologue. There may have been a few plot twists too many, and there might still be some lingering plot threads that are more unpleasant than funny or meaningful, but at the very least we got a glimpse of the kind of resonant storytelling that has sustained Shameless in the past. Now we shall see if it can be sustained in the future."^[4]

Leslie Pariseau of Vulture gave the episode a 3 out of 5 star rating and wrote ""The F Word" does build toward a very big twist: The Gallaghers find an eviction notice on their door. In an episode that finds everyone sick of everyone else, it seems the South Side is sick of this twisted family, too."^[5] Hollis Andrews of The New York Observer wrote "The proverbial ca-ca is damn near reaching the fan for the Gallagher's this week. I mean, their fan is already covered in the stuff, but it seems like more is always on the way."^[6]

Amanda Michelle Steiner of Entertainment Weekly wrote "if I know anything about television, it's Ian's future love interest set to make him rethink his life and choices. Fingers crossed that whatever comes next propels Ian to better choices made by himself, and that he doesn't become dependent on another person to make those choices for him."^[7] Allyson Johnson of The Young Folks gave the episode an 8.5 out of 10 rating and wrote "Wonderfully shot and genuinely moving, it's a move the show hasn't done before and I'm intrigued by how the Gallaghers, Fiona mainly, is going to work her way out of this one."^[8]

David Crow of Den of Geek gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "I don't think anyone is supposed to have time to laugh too hard. Not with gentrification finally joining the rest of the "A" storylines since Fiona got an eviction notice slapped on her front door. That is never a good harbinger. But we'll find out how that will effect the Gallagher clan as Fi and Debs' Cold War inches closer to the nuclear option next week on Shameless."^[9] Paul Dailly of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5, and wrote, "another solid episode of this Showtime drama. The show never stops to catch a breath and life for these characters will never be smooth."^[10]

TVLine named Emmy Rossum as the "Performer of the Week" for the week of January 30, 2016, for her performance in the episode. The site wrote, "Sunday's episode of Shameless was titled "The F Word" after a scathing song written by Fiona's estranged husband, Gus. While "The F Word" stood for nothing nice between the ex-lovers, Emmy Rossum's emotional display during the hour was rated F for fantastic. Though we've come to expect that kind of stellar work from the actress, watching her nail a challenging scene still leaves us in awe."^[11]

• "The F Word" at IMDb