The eighth and final season of American crime- comedy-drama television series ''
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
'' was ordered on May 7, 2015, by
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The season premiered on September 21, 2015, in the United States on ABC, and the finale aired on May 16, 2016. The season consisted of 22 episodes.
On April 18, 2016, ABC and ABC Productions announced that Stana Katic and Tamala Jones would not return for ''Castle''s ninth season, should it be renewed. Despite several other cast members having signed on for a ninth season, on May 12, 2016, it was announced that the show would be cancelled instead; the final episode aired on May 16, 2016.
Overview
Richard Castle
Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series ''Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion.
The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books a ...
(Fillion) is a famous mystery novelist who has killed off the main character in his popular book series and has
writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...
. He is brought in by the
NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
for questioning regarding a copy-cat murder based on one of his novels. He is intrigued by this new window into crime and murder, and uses his connection with the mayor to charm his way into shadowing Detective
Kate Beckett
Katherine Houghton Beckett is a fictional character of the ABC crime series ''Castle''. She is portrayed by Stana Katic.
History
Katherine Houghton Beckett was born to Jim and Johanna Beckett and was raised in Manhattan.
Her grandfather was an ...
(Katic). Castle decides to use Beckett as his
muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
for Nikki Heat, the main character of his next book series. Beckett, an avid reader of Castle's books, initially disapproves of having Castle shadow her work, but later warms up and recognizes Castle as a useful resource in her team's investigations.
Cast
Main cast
*
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
as
Richard Castle
Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series ''Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion.
The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books a ...
*
Stana Katic
Stana Katic (; born ) is a Canadian-American actress and producer. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series ''Castle'' (2009–2016) and Agent Emily Byrne in the thriller series ''Absentia'' (2017–2020).
Early life ...
as Captain Kate Castle
*
Jon Huertas
Jonathan William Scott Hofstedt (born October 23, 1969) is an American actor. Known professionally as Jon Huertas, he is best known for his role as witch hunter Brad Alcerro in ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', Sergeant Antonio 'Poke' Espera in HB ...
as Dt. Javier Esposito
*
Seamus Dever
Seamus Patrick Dever (born July 27, 1976) is an American actor known for his role as Detective Kevin Ryan in the ABC series ''Castle''.
Early life
Dever was born in Flint, Michigan, and moved at the age of six to Bullhead City, Arizona, ...
as Dt. Kevin Ryan
*
Tamala Jones
Tamala Reneé Jones (born November 12, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as '' Booty Call'', '' The Wood'', ''Kingdom Come'', '' The Brothers'', and '' What Men Want''. Her prominent television roles include ...
Susan Sullivan
Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944) is an American actress. Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom '' It's a Livin ...
as Martha Rodgers
*
Toks Olagundoye
Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress.Sunkrish Bala
Sunkrish Bala (born Sunkrish Balasubramanian May 21, 1984) is an American actor.
Early life
Bala was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, and is of Tamil ancestry. He graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in 2002 and from the school o ...
as Vikram Singh
*
Juliana Dever
Juliana Dever (born December 17, 1980) is an American actress and travel blogger. Dever is best known for her recurring role on crime drama ''Castle'' as Jennifer "Jenny" Ryan. In 2016, Dever produced and starred in the VR web series ''Touched ...
as Jenny Ryan
Episodes
Production
Development
''Castle'' was renewed for an eighth season on May 7, 2015. Following the seventh season, David Amann stepped down as showrunner, and writer Terence Paul Winter and Alexi Haley were hired as the new showrunners for the eighth season. ''
TVLine
''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs.
History
In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to es ...
'' announced on July 7, 2015, that
Toks Olagundoye
Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born 16 September 1975) is a Nigerian actress.Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...
's and
Stana Katic
Stana Katic (; born ) is a Canadian-American actress and producer. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series ''Castle'' (2009–2016) and Agent Emily Byrne in the thriller series ''Absentia'' (2017–2020).
Early life ...
's contracts expired, and new contract negotiations began before the seventh season ended. It was reported on April 16, 2015, that Fillion renewed his contract for an eighth season, while Katic renewed hers on May 12, 2015. However, in January 2016, speculation began that the series might move on without Fillion and Katic as their contracts were due to expire again after the eighth season. After March 3, 2016, when ABC renewed most of their shows, ''Castle'' was one of the few shows excluded, adding to the rumors. It was also rumored that if the show were to be renewed for a ninth season, it was only going to be renewed for 13 episodes by ABC and would most likely not premiere until mid-season in 2017 and would only have 6 cast members, with the departure of Katic and Jones, despite the show usually having 8 cast members. ''
TVLine
''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs.
History
In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to es ...
'' reported on April 5, 2016, that the producers were filming multiple endings for the season in case the show was cancelled. Co-showrunner Alexi Hawley commented on the report saying "There’s stuff up in the air, so we are trying to leave it in a very dynamic way which leaves open the possibility that maybe the show won’t come back in the same form next season — although, again, we really hope that it does."
Two days later, ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
'' announced that
Stana Katic
Stana Katic (; born ) is a Canadian-American actress and producer. She played Kate Beckett on the ABC television romantic crime series ''Castle'' (2009–2016) and Agent Emily Byrne in the thriller series ''Absentia'' (2017–2020).
Early life ...
would not return for a potential ninth season, as well as
Tamala Jones
Tamala Reneé Jones (born November 12, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films such as '' Booty Call'', '' The Wood'', ''Kingdom Come'', '' The Brothers'', and '' What Men Want''. Her prominent television roles include ...
, who had been on the show since the first season. The reason given was due to budgetary decisions made by ABC. On May 5, 2016, ''TVLine'' reported that Fillion had signed up for a potential ninth season. A few days later, it was announced that
Seamus Dever
Seamus Patrick Dever (born July 27, 1976) is an American actor known for his role as Detective Kevin Ryan in the ABC series ''Castle''.
Early life
Dever was born in Flint, Michigan, and moved at the age of six to Bullhead City, Arizona, ...
had signed up for a ninth season, while co-stars
Jon Huertas
Jonathan William Scott Hofstedt (born October 23, 1969) is an American actor. Known professionally as Jon Huertas, he is best known for his role as witch hunter Brad Alcerro in ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', Sergeant Antonio 'Poke' Espera in HB ...
,
Molly Quinn
Molly Caitlyn Quinn is an American actress who has worked in theatre, film, and television. Her roles include Alexis Castle, daughter of the title character on ABC's ''Castle'', and the voice of Bloom, one of the main characters in the Nickelode ...
,
Susan Sullivan
Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944) is an American actress. Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom '' It's a Livin ...
Season 8
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...