‘Castle’ Execs Reveal The Truth Behind Show’s Cancel And Stana Katic’s Firing

Fans of Castle have faced two major upheavals and are now left wondering what has really happened behind the scenes to leave them high and dry. First came the termination of Castle star Stana Katic, who played Nathan Fillion’s love interest on the ABC series. If that wasn’t already a devastating blow, ABC has since canceled the series altogether, even after stating that plans were in the works to either carry on with Castle minus Katic’s character or produce a spin-off series. Now, it seems none of that will come to fruition.

Why Did ABC Cancel Castle?

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In the beginning the plan for season 9 of Castle had been to eliminate the roles of Kate Beckett (Katic) and medical examiner Lanie Parish, played by Tamala Jones, just a few weeks later, ABC cancelled the series altogether. Recognizing that Castle fans have been left wondering why the series would have been cancelled so abruptly, People magazine turned to the Television Critics Association’s press tour on Thursday, when newly appointed ABC President Channing Dungey expressed his views on cancelling Castle.

“That’s a case where you have things running on sort of two parallel tracks,” Dungey said in explaining why the actresses were let go, just as Castle was cancelled. “We were always very up-front 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.”

The ABC president went on to further explain that, while a cancellation might have been imminent, Castle producers were also planning for the eventuality that Castle might actually get the Season 9 green light. In that event, they wanted to be sure the termination of the Katic and Jones characters was in place and a new direction had been taken.

“So they did what they felt they needed to do in order to be ready if they did get the nod,” Channing explained. “Ultimately for us at the network, we did not feel that it was the right thing to do to order another season.”

Why Did Castle Producers Let Stana Katic Go In The First Place?

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It was revealed in May that Castle would not be renewed for Season 9 and, around that same time, news was revealed by US Weekly that Stana Katic’s departure from the series was due to a feud between herself and co-star Nathan Fillion. Looking back, it seemed as though Castle producers had anticipated a change in the show’s line-up, because a season finale promo revealed that the episode would end in death and that the love affair between Fillion’s and Katic’s characters would also be destroyed.

“Castle has been one of the greatest joys of my creative life, and I hope the show continues on for years to come,” Fillion had stated publicly, just after Ms. Katic’s departure from Castle had been announced.

ABC also released a statement at the time of Stana Katic’s departure from Castle, praising her “talent and dedication to the series” and wishing her well.

Behind the scenes, friction had been growing hotter between Nathan and Stana for years, though nothing has been said to reveal the cause of this feud.

“Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion completely despise each other,” a source told US Weekly. “They will not speak when they are off set, and this has been going on for seasons now.”

“This season, it got so out of hand they made Stana and Nathan go to couples counseling together,” continued the Castle source.

Meanwhile, Ms. Katic has denied that there has ever been any conflict between Fillion and herself, stating that she “had absolutely no issues” with her Castle co-star.

[Image by ABC]