'Shameless' season 7 news 2016: Emmy Rossum takes on directing role

Emmy Rossum will be returning to "Shameless" season 7, but it may not be what fans think. The actress, who plays Fiona Gallagher on Showtime's dramedy, will be taking on a new role come episode 4 of the upcoming season.

Rossum will be directing the fourth episode of "Shameless" season 7, a first for the multi-nominated actress. The air date for her directorial debut episode is not fixed as yet but may be up on Oct. 23.

It is not something new for this series to have one of its stars take on the directorial chair. Another of the show's cast members, William H. Macy, who portrays Frank Gallagher, has also taken this road in the past.

This opportunity may also be a much welcome surprise and double the joy, considering her fiancé, Sam Esmail, is set to helm the whole second season of "Mr. Robot." The pair had once before been involved in the same project, "Comet," wherein Esmail had his first outing as a director while Rossum signed on as a cast member.

This means the actress-turned-director will not have a shortage of ideas to bring into the show, with her own Golden Globe Award-winning ability and potential venues to confer and share her concerns, triumphs, or woes.

As to what is in store for Fiona in the show's next run is something that is not clear yet. It can be recalled that the previous season was an emotion-laden one for the character, what with her planned marriage with Sean (Dermot Mulroney) being thwarted during the last episode by her father Frank, who disclosed his daughter's would-be husband's continued dependency on heroin.

As a result, Sean owned up to the truth of Frank's accusation but got on the path for gaining his parental rights over his son. Some twist of fate, though, changed Sean's circumstances as he was nabbed by unidentified persons and ended up getting pitched into the Chicago River.

It is not clear where the next season will take up the story, but fans may be glad to know that "Shameless" season 7 will be turning up on their small screens a bit before the established premiere schedule for the show. The first episode will air on Oct. 2.