ABC Network seems to be on a mission to clean house, as an announcement has been made that they are cancelling several of their series line-up, including long running shows like Castle . After eight seasons and amongst a great deal of controversy regarding the cast members, Castle has been cancelled.
Season 9 of the show was already scheduled to have some major shake ups as it was announced that Castle ‘s co-lead Stana Katic, along with fellow original cast member Tamala Jones, would not be returning for the possible ninth season. The reports surrounding the stars leaving the series suggested that the exits were cost-cutting measures implemented with the aim to enable the show to return for another season. Many persons had expected that the series would continue into Season 9 nonetheless, with its main star Nathan Fillion.
It was also alleged that even after it was announced that Katic and Jones’ would depart from the series, ABC Studios was in negotiations with Nathan Fillion and the other male co-stars Seamus Dever and Jon Huertas for their return for the potential Season 9.
For the love of Caskett – Sign the Petition asking to Cancel Castle ABC & have no season 9 https://t.co/nP6p7mBG2N ? pic.twitter.com/iVRoeHD0iE
— Beckstle (@Beckstle) May 12, 2016
The announcement comes as a surprise for many, though a social media campaign to have the show cancelled because the ladies were leaving did actually arise. EW reported that ABC executive producers Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter had previously told the media outlet that they had actually planned for the possible cancellation of Castle . The men relayed that they had shot a scene which would, out of respect for their support over the years, give a resolution to the fans and could serve as a series finale. Hawley had mentioned though, that he hoped there was ever a need for it to be aired.
“If we hear that we’re not coming back, we have shot something that we can put at the end of the episode as a way to put a button on everything. Obviously that would be a bad thing, because it would mean no more. We did it in order to try to protect the fans, because you can’t end the series on a cliffhanger.”
Winter added that “the hope is that it never sees the light of day.” The Season 8 finale of Castle will now become the series finale, and is scheduled to air on May 16.
Hold up! Did ABC just secretly cancel Agent Carter? https://t.co/A1xpvukvS6 pic.twitter.com/LHa6UiauwR
— E! News TV Scoop (@eonlineTV) May 11, 2016
#ABC don’t cancel #AgentCarter . A phenomenal show with a well rounded, strong female lead; I guess we don’t need another of those. Oh wait.
— Michael Spadaccini (@MikeSpadaccini) May 13, 2016
The fact that this cancellation could actually have a silver lining has been pointed out as it relates to the fate of Stana Katic’s character, Captain Beckett. Based on the fact that Katic was leaving the ABC series, the options for her character would have been very slim and would likely have been very grim. There would have been little choice but to kill her if Fillion’s title character, Castle, would move on and it was even rumored that new series regular Hayley would replace Beckett as Castle’s love interest. Fans were once more, not keen.
If the writer doesn’t have his muse there simply is no story to tell.
CANCEL CASTLE ABC pic.twitter.com/S8rihKBfpc
— Angel Costa ? (@angelcosta78) May 12, 2016
Hawley also pointed to the dangerous lives that the Castle characters lead and how it would have been used to carry the series through.
“Their lives are in jeopardy pretty much from [the] jump. What we wanted to do was keep pulling the rug out from under them. Things get dangerous very fast. Ultimately, it’s a back-and-forth between being the hunted and being the hunters all the way through the finale.”
Of course, as previously mentioned, there are a few other shows which ABC Studios has scheduled to be cancelled. The Nerdist reported that Agent Carter, The Muppets, and Galavant have also been cancelled. Agent Carter only had 18 episodes and two seasons before it was cut from the network. The show ended with the possibility of a new beginning for the lead character and some fans are already indulging in the hope that streaming service could pick up the contract for Agent Carter since ABC has cancelled it.
Of course @ABCNetwork would cancel @Nashville_ABC . Everything I watch gets ditched. Maybe a @netflix original? pic.twitter.com/zcvou9tZGR
— Jimday (@jimdaymusic) May 12, 2016
The drama filled newcomer, The Family, and the musical drama, Nashville, also fell prey to ABC’s cancellation spree, and both are also leading to social media shock.
New episodes of Castle will air on ABC at 10 p.m. ET on Monday.
[Photo Courtesy of ABC]