'The Orville' Season 2 Premiere Date, News: Jessica Szohr Cast as New Crew Member

By Denise See, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, February 15, 2018

A new face is joining the second season of "The Orville."

According to Deadline, Jessica Szohr has been tapped to portray a series regular role on the upcoming season of the sci-fi comedy-drama series. Details about her character are shrouded in mystery at this point in time, though it is known that she will play a new crew member on the U.S.S. Orville.

Szohr is known for portraying Vanessa Abrams on The CW's "Gossip Girl," which ran from 2007 to 2012. Additionally, the actress appeared on the recently concluded eighth season of Showtime's "Shameless," playing the recurring part of Nessa.

"The Orville" was given a second season renewal order back in November 2017. The move made sense since the first season performed relatively well in terms of ratings.

Not much is known about the plot of the second season of "The Orville," though fans can look forward to two more episodes than its debut season. This much was revealed by creator and star Seth MacFarlane at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in January, according to TV Guide.

"I think it's going to be at least 14 [episodes]," he said.

This may come as bad news to some fans who were expecting a 22-episode second season pickup, which is the more typical order for broadcast shows. However, MacFarlane asserts that producing fewer episodes than normal would make for better quality.

"I'd rather do fewer episodes and have them be better content-wise than do 22 and have them be filler," he said.

It can be recalled that the first season was initially supposed to have 13 episodes, but it was reduced to 12 at the last minute. The season 1 finale was moved to season 2, making for a total of 14 episodes.

As for when "The Orville" will return on air, MacFarlane revealed that a fall premiere does not seem likely because of all the post-production involved. However, he later clarified on Twitter that the show would be back later this year, though he did not reveal a specific date.