If you feel a chill and smell pumpkin spice in the air, it can only mean one thing: Fall TV is here!  And if you're anything like Small Screen Girl, you spent the summer lamenting about the surprise pregnancies, weddings, break-ups, potential murders, angelic possessions and more.  Finales put our favorite characters through the ringer, and premieres aren't that much kinder either.  

Here are 8 characters who deserve better in the 2018-2019 season.  

Today marks SSG's third birthday!  Like most three year olds, I spent more time running around in circles being dazzled by shiny things than actually accomplishing things.  But I'm also super-excited for the upcoming television season.  Check back for more very soon, and have some cake in honor of SSG!

I truly believe that you stumble on the right television show at the right time.  I call it Divine Fandom.  When I was struggling in both my personal and professional life, I somehow found Shameless—the Showtime drama about a dysfunctional family from the south side of Chicago that my best friend has begged me to watch for years.  No matter what is happening in your life, I felt nothing but #blessed after seeing what the Gallaghers endure on a daily basis.

Within a week, I was six seasons deep into the drama that is equal parts crazy, heartwarming, hilarious and fantastic.  It’s a shame how a show that is inclusive, that is as dark and twisted as Shameless, that is as expertly and sublimely acted has been mostly ignored by major award shows.  Yet it also falls in line with the drama’s south side charm.  The Gallaghers move heaven and earth just to survive, barely catch a break, so why would they expect any praise? 

Here are 6 reasons—one for each Gallagher (psychotic half-sister Sammy doesn’t fucking count)—to binge Shameless before the start of Season 9 on September 9.