Jessica Szohr, who was previously known for her role on "Gossip Girl" has been announced as one of the new cast members in the eighth season of "Shameless." It will recurring role and Szohr will have the opportunity to work with great actors like William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum and the rest of the "Shameless" cast.

Jessica will be playing the role of a character named Ness. She's described as being a smart and tough lesbian. She's going to be one of the tenant's in the apartment building that Fiona Gallagher bought at the end of season 7 on "Shameless.

" The two will become friends so there will be plenty of opportunities for some fun scenes.

Jessica Szohr's past roles

ICM Partners and Atlas Artists represent Jessica Szohr. She's no stranger to the Showtime brand. In the past she has appeared on the "Twin Peaks" revival, although her appearance was brief. She's also appeared in "Complications," which ran on USA Network and "Kingdom," which was on the Audience Network. Of course, she was also known for her role on "Gossip Girl."

LGBTQ story lines on 'Shameless'

"Shameless" can only get better with new cast members to make the show more diverse. In the past, "Shameless" has not been hesitant about showing LGBTQ characters. One of the main characters, Ian, has been openly gay since the beginning of the series.

Ian's relationship with Mickey has been one of the main stories over the seasons and fans loved seeing the progress of their relationship. At the end of season 8, Mickey and Ian left each other but there's still the possibility that Mickey will show up again.

There's also been the story line of the "thruple" on "Shameless." Kevin is fake married to Vee but Vee is real-married to Svetlana and they all live and love together, raising their children and running the business.

The "Shameless" trio may have come to an end though when Vee and Kev found out that Svetlana did some pretty shady business dealings behind their back and basically stole the bar out from under them. Hopefully, season 8 will show us how they manage to work that out – if they do!

"Shameless" has even stepped into the transgender conversation.

Ian's new love is Trevor, who is a post-op transgender man. Ian had a bit of a hard time figuring things out with Trevor because it was all so new to him but Trevor has been patient in walking him through the things he needs to learn.

The starting date for the season 8 of "Shameless" has not been announced yet. However, the cast are currently filming so fans should know soon! What story line in "Shameless" are you most excited about following in season 8? Do you think Jessica Szohr will make a good addition to the cast?
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