Is a ninth season of Castle on the cards for ABC?
Drama, thrills and comedy – ABC’s 2009 series, Castle had it all. The series was widely popular for the chemistry between its two leads and its addictive plot. It maintained high ratings throughout the 8 seasons it aired and was one of the most successful dramas on American television during its telecast.
Highlights —
- Richard Castle and Kate Beckett make an unconventional team
- The off-screen drama surrounding season 9
- The real reason behind a possible revival
Show-runner Andrew W. Marlowe took the ‘opposites-attract’ concept and turned it into such a brilliance that people fell for it rihght away. After much confusion and disarray, ABC finally announced on May 12, 2016 that the series would not be returning for a season 9. But will the series be given another chance and revived for by the network executives?
Richard Castle and Kate Beckett make the unconventionally perfect A-team
Ever since its first episode in 2009, Castle was a fan favourite. The police procedural dramedy had fans laughing, crying and loving the characters for eight years. It followed the lives of Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), the former being a rule abiding and uptight homicide detective and the latter, a carefree and easy-going mystery novel author as they were unwillingly brought together to solve a murder case.
Despite initial aversion to Castle, Beckett gradually found herself accepting him and falling for him. Actors Jon Huertas and Seamus Dever portrayed the characters of Detective Javier “Javi” Esposito and Detective Kevin Ryan, respectively, and perfectly completed the A-team.
The highlight of the series was the phenomenal chemistry between Fillion and Katic. Their on-screen companionship was so strong that it led people to speculate a probable real-life romance between the two.
Related:
Castle Is Coming Back With Season 9, But Not With The Old Cast
Castle managed to attract a minimum of 10 million viewers per season and was the recipient of multiple People Choice Awards. It is still considered one of the most binge-worthy comedy dramas out there and has fans wishing to see the series return.
The off-screen drama surrounding season 9
In 2016, a conjecture that Castle might return for a ninth season started doing the rounds, but the situation got very complicated internally.
At the end of season 7, the contracts of the cast members had expired and so they renewed it for one more season. When they started working on season 8, everyone started speculating if a ninth season would be produced as well. However, during this time the off-screen relationship between the leading couple Fillion and Katic had turned very bitter. It was even rumoured that Fillion wanted the leading lady out of the show.
Katic had decided to exit the series, followed by co-star Tamala Jones, and season 8 would be the last one for them. Meanwhile, it was also revealed that other cast members had renewed their contracts with ABC for another season. The makers of the show presented the network with plausible ideas if they wanted to continue the series without Katic. However, at the end the ABC executives decided to cancel the show at the end of season 8.
The president of ABC, Channing Dungey expressed, “We were always very upfront with the studio and the producers about the possibility that we might not be bringing the show back for Season 9, but the studio has to do what they need to do in order to prepare for the possibility of Season 9. So they did what they felt they needed to do in order to be ready if they did get the nod.”
The final season saw the protagonists chasing a body called LokSat and ultimately defeating him. The last scene showed Becket and Castle raising their three children seven years later.
The real reason behind a possible revival
When the makers of the show were thinking of reviving it for a season 9 in 2016, one of the options on the table was to have an entirely new cast lead the show with Fillion reprising his role and playing consultant to the new team.
Co-creator, Alexi Hawley had revealed in an interview, “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.”
Even though the idea did not receive a nod a number of the original cast members were willing to come back and reprise their roles. This can be the perfect idea for a season 9. If the executives decide to renew Castle they might just conceptualize it this way.
Were you a fan of Castle? Would you like to watch season 9 of the series with a completely new cast? Write to us in the comments below.
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