ABC and Castle caught some major backlash from fans when it was decided and revealed too far ahead of time that star Stana Katic was being released from the show along with Tamala Jones at the end of Season 8. And now, the network has decided to just go ahead and cancel the series altogether, so that Season 9 won’t be happening for any of the show’s stars.
Castle has been an on-the-bubble show for a while now, but strong fan support has kept ABC behind the renewals. At least until this year, apparently, according to TVLine. There are several reasons why the cancellation isn’t a surprise, but ABC is still worthy of some major side-eye from viewers, since the past week or so has seen stars Nathan Fillion and more signing on for one-year deals to reprise their roles in the event that Season 9 would happen. To many, that seemed like shorthand for “Season 9 is coming,” but that’s the kind of error that people like Richard Castle don’t make…often.
So this means that next Monday’s season finale will actually be the series finale, and that means we might see something mighty tragic happening before the final credits roll. The producers had recently teased that there are two versions of the finale’s ending, one of which was being held to use in the worst case scenario that ABC laid out today. Could they really make things too emotional now that it won’t be coming back? Does it have to end badly for everyone?
Check out the preview for the finale, titled “Crossfire,” below.
Castle fans have been pretty outspoken about the LokSat storyline that has taken over Season 8, and many were hoping that another season of the show, however limited or cast-purged, would allow it to return to its former glory with another narrative. Alas, that was not meant to be.
Far from the only show cancelled by ABC today, Castle joins other now-defunct series like The Muppets, Galavant, Agent Carter and Nashville. On the renewal side of things, we'll see more from The Real O'Neals and American Crime. But none of that is going to help you get over a future without Nathan Fillion's dashing author in it. I guess there will always be repeats.
So remember to tune into ABC on Monday, May 16, to watch Castle put its characters through one more episode of close calls and quick thinking.
