The Dramatic Reason Behind ABC's 'Castle' Cancellation Revealed

Despite mystery crime dramedy Castle running for eight seasons, ABC abruptly canceled the series. There was even a time when it looked like a Season 9 would happen, but it didn't. Allegedly, there was some on-set drama that happened behind the scenes, and it all started when the network decided to not bring Stana Katic back as Kate Beckett.

Less than a week before Castle's Season 8 finale, ABC announced that the Nathan Fillion-led show would be ending. This happened not long after the network ended up firing star Stana Katic after Season 8, not renewing her contract for a potential ninth season. The actress spoke out about the firing in 2020, telling News Corp Saturday that she was "confused by the entire experience" and she was "hurt." Two years prior, she also told Entertainment Weekly that she still wasn't "clear on the thought process behind the way that it went down." 

It's still not completely clear why ABC didn't want to bring Stana Katic for Season 9 and if that would have made a difference with the show's future. Even after all that happened, the actress seems to still have some good memories from portraying NYPD homicide detective and captain Kate Beckett. However, that doesn't mean that ABC gets a pass for what they did, but maybe there's more behind-the-scenes secrets of how the firing really unfolded, even if Katic doesn't know the full story.

Considering the fact that Kate and Castle are partners, it would have been pretty hard to see the series move forward after Kate's departure. This does raise the question of whether or not there will ever be a Castle revival and if Stana Katic would return as Kate. Since she still seems to look back at her time on the series fondly, it's always possible. However, as for the rumors that she had some trouble with a castmate or two, it's unknown. It has been a while since then, so who knows what could have changed over the years.

At the very least, Castle is streaming in full on Hulu, so fans will be able to watch the series as much as they want. Even though the series got an abrupt ending, it might have been better than getting a season without Kate Beckett, at least depending on how you look at it. With so many revivals and reboots happening these days, who knows? Maybe Castle will come back in the future.