ABC’s ‘Castle’ season 8 spoilers: First look at Toks Olagundoye!

Ready for some more “Castle” news, and for some people to make quick judgments over something without actually seeing the show itself? We’re sure that we are going to have both when talking about the addition of Toks Olagundoye as Hayley. We know how the internet works.

The former star of “The Neighbors” is a new addition to the show this year as independent investigator Hayley Shipton, and the first photo of her alongside Castle (Nathan Fillion) is below via Entertainment Weekly. In describing this part and how she fits into the universe of the show, executive producer Alexi Hawley says the following to the website:

“[Toks] plays a really dynamic, fun character … It’s a voice that the show doesn’t have. What’s great about her is Castle [Nathan Fillion] has been investigating cases police-adjacent, so it’s always about doing things the way police would. She doesn’t do things that way, so that fun dynamic of, ‘No, we break in rather than get a warrant,’ is kind of fun.”

Hawley also says that Hayley will be in some ways a mentor to Alexis Castle (Molly Quinn), and will be there to be a little bit of a big-sister figure in a way that Beckett (Stana Katic) cannot, given that she is now her stepmother.

We know that the internet is already freaking out over some of this, mostly because they’ve done that over almost everything “Castle”-related all summer long. Personally, we don’t really think that much is going to change. They’ve already said that Hayley is not meant to be a romantic rival, and Castle and Beckett are still going to have plenty of time together. As long as we see the two investigating still in some shape or form, we’ll be happy. It’s worth giving these changes a chance.

Speaking of changes, head over here to see some other updates when it comes to Martha on “Castle”! Also, sign up here to get some further TV scoop on all we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)