Could ‘Castle’ season 9 happen on ABC without Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic?
The future of “Castle” is very much in doubt, and of course, this was a hot topic throughout the TCA Winter Press Tour over the weekend.
With that said, there was still one question that came out and surprised us very much: The idea of there being some sort of potential spin-off for the show if for whatever reason Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic opt not to return. These two actors are not under contract beyond this season, and we could have a situation unfold that is in some ways very similar to what we had last year.
Speaking per Variety, ABC head Paul Lee floated the possibility of some sort of continuation for the show even without its leads, which of course has led us to wonder if that could in some way be possible. We’ve come up with a few separate ideas.
“Alexis, P.I.” – A very “Nancy Drew” sort of series revolving around a young woman trying to make a name for herself solving crimes. Maybe you can get Fillion or Katic back for a cameo here and there, and you can move her to a new city and surround her with a new cast (maybe you keep Hayley). We’d be intrigued, but the issue with all of these ideas remains the same: You have to find a way to get a ton of new viewers interested since the fraction of the “Castle” audience that would watch probably would not carry the show.
“Ryan and Esposito” – They get reassigned, or they decide to open a separate business where they help solve crimes that allows them to make a little bit more money. They have great chemistry, but how do you market the show to non-“Castle” fans? It’s tricky.
Completely new characters – Maybe you introduce someone later in the season, give them a de-facto backdoor pilot, and you have a spin-off that is barely associated with the original at all.
If “Castle” in its current form ends this season, would you watch a spin-off show? Vote in the attached poll, and head over here to get some other TV news on everything we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)
Sarabear
January 17, 2016 @ 6:07 pm
To those in charge, make the stars a deal that they can not say no to. Also get you best writers on top of the storyline. The story so far this season has been awful! Why mess with a good thing when you have storylines already that could be expanded. People watch Castle because it’s the fairytale couple working for good. Have shows that center around the other characters, but leave the core couple alone! Throw in a bit of a tease and have Castle still impress and surprise Beckett. Let them take a real honeymoon. Deal with Alexis and school. Have Martha get her own apartment but maybe still in the building and how that works. Gosh there are thousands of ideas! Bring the show back next season and start writing great material!
Jim45
January 11, 2016 @ 6:23 pm
One of the big problems ABC and the show runners at Castle have is that if either Katic or Fillion or both are not coming back as major players in season 9 the rest of season 8, as bad as it is, is completely lost. If word got out almost none of the fans would watch the remaining episodes.