'The Orville' Adds New Crew Member for Season 2

Fox has added a new cast member to the crew of The Orville.

Jessica Szohr has signed up for a tour of duty aboard The Orville. Szohr will be a season regular playing a new member of The Orville's crew according to Deadline.

Szohr's credits include turns on Showtime's Shameless and on Gossip Girl, as well as appearances on Twin Peaks and Complications.

No further details were given on Szohr's character. One could speculate that she will play the ship's new navigator, replacing J. Lee's Lt. Commander John LaMarr, who was promoted out of the post and into the position of Chief Engineer.

The Orville is Fox's science fiction dramedy created by Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane. The show is inspired by MacFarlane's love of the Star Trek franchise.

MacFarlane himself plays the show's lead, Captain Ed Mercer, who is placed in command of a mid-size exploratory vessel in the fleet of the Planetary Union. The crew includes Adrianne Palicki as Mercer's first officer and ex-wife Kelly Grayson, Penny Johnson Jerald as Chief Medical Officer Dr. Claire Finn, Scott Grimes as ship's helmsman Lt. Gordon Malloy, Peter Macon as second officer Lt. Commander Bortus, Halston Sage as Chief of Security Lt. Alara Kitan, Mark Jackson as the ship's non-biological Science and Engineering Officer Isaac, and Lee's Lt. Commander LaMarr.

The Orville was Fox's biggest premiere since Empire and was soon renewed for a second season.

"Once again Seth has struck a powerful chord with viewers," said Michael Thorn, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company in a statement when the renewal was announced. "He has delivered a series full of optimism, drama and his trademark humor. We want to thank him and the rest of the talented cast, as well as the producers and crew, for an incredible first season. We can't wait to see where The Orville travels in the second."

Fox reported that The Orville had an audience of approximately 14 million viewers across all platforms.

MacFarlane executive produces The Orville along with two Star Trek alumni: Brannon Braga, who worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise, and David A. Goodman, a longtime fan who wrote the popular Futurama tribute episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" before moving on to write for Star Trek: Enterprise.

The new season of The Orville will consist of 14 episodes and will premiere in late 2018.