Ratings: What’s going on with ‘Castle’ season 7?
We have written a little this season already about “Castle” and its surprising ratings slump most of this season, but there is something that really struck us in particular about the show’s performance last night. Mostly, it is wondering why we are not seeing the series retrieve more viewers off of its “Bachelor” lead-in than it is at the moment.
Basically, what we are talking about right now is the show posting a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic for its very-good episode “I, Witness” from Monday night. The equivalent episode the day after the Super Bowl last year drew a 2.0, and the lowest-rated episode in season 6 as a whole was a 1.6. The show also is posting a smaller number of total viewers than in years past.
So what is the issue here? We thought for a while it was the one-two punch of “The Blacklist” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” causing the problem, but the James Spader show has moved, and “State of Affairs” is not that much of a threat. To us, there are only three possible explanations: Viewer erosion over time (it happens with most series), a huge crossover between this show and the “NCIS” spin-off, or viewers who watched “The Blacklist” in the fall, and are too far behind to try to catch up.
We also feel like there may be some creative bumps in the road. The entire “Rick’s disappearance” has not played well from our vantage point; it delayed the wedding, and there have not been any real answers to it so far. While we’ve enjoyed the P.I. story more, not everyone has.
Ultimately, we do still feel very confident that there will be a season 8, mostly because there are not too many other ABC dramas not from the mind of Shonda Rhimes with better performances these days, save for “Once Upon a Time.” With that, we’d still like to see a better performance, and if this show was on a network like CBS, we’d be worried.
Have any theories? We want to hear them below, and head over here to get some other news on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. Also if you want even more scoop on “Castle” then just head over to the link here and let us be your guide. (Photo: ABC.)
Patricia Abruzzese
February 10, 2015 @ 9:40 pm
All of the people I know that watch were unanimously aggravated with the way they handled the Hampton’s wedding I am not a writer and even I can think of other ways they could have gone about it, then to add insult to injury they have a wedding that doesn’t include their closest friends, Kate’s father doesn’t say not one word. Remember the episode where Ryan and Espo were trapped inside the burning building and they get them out at the end and they all gather around while Jenny introduces Ryan to his daughter (even I cried) I thought what a wonderful moment (great episode) and then they have a wedding that doesn’t include them. Montreal was stupid and now nothing. I also think the one thing they are doing right is by not playing the break up game I believe that most people will stop watching.if they go that route. Some of my favorite Castle moments were in his beautiful home with family and Kate being there as his wife just makes it complete. I also agree with Bev Williams take.
Jim45
February 10, 2015 @ 6:39 pm
Two things. 1) Episodes 6.23, 7.01 and 7.02 just turned a lot of viewers off. Once you lose a customer it is difficult to get them back. 2) Crime shows are subject to a lot of time shift viewing. I do agree that most of the season has been good to very good. Nathan and Stana have been outstanding.
carbono
February 9, 2015 @ 9:19 pm
I really do believe that it was the wedding getting yanked away at the last second at the end of season 6. Viewers were really turned off by that. They had a whole season of talking about it & then….no wedding. Then when viewers didn’t get the wedding in the 1st couple of ep’s this year, well that was the straw that broke the camels back. Very unfortunate because I’ve really really enjoyed this season! I am also loving this PI arc. The 3XK ep’s coming soon should be epic!!
T
February 7, 2015 @ 7:42 am
I still watch the show & am really liking this season (loved the Castle PI arc & am glad the show is focusing a bit back on Castle. The show had been a bit Beckett heavy the last couple of seasons & the murder of Beckett’s mother storyline dragged on too long. Glad it’s over!) From others I have talked to though, lingering feelings of betrayal over the blown wedding & lack of more information about Castle’s disappearance seem to be the big problems. Of those that hated the S6 finale but still came back to S7, many gave up with the lack of Castle disappearance story development. These two things did lose many viewers for them & I’m not sure they’ll come back. It is sad for them because they really are missing a great season.
Rachmiel
February 4, 2015 @ 7:30 pm
I too think that they misplayed the wedding. They could have had a great wedding and then, at the end of that show or the beginning of next season, had a cliffhanger with Castle disappearing. And the simple fact that there is decreased viewership because of the age of the show makes sense to me. But the things that I have always liked about the show are still there: the chemistry between Katic and Fillion; the love story between Beckett and Castle and the fact the show runners haven’t stooped to soap opera level by breaking them up to bring them back together; the mix of comedy and suspense. I still like the comedy release because my area of the economy definitely has not improved and has worsened–Castle helps me escape. And, I like Katic and Fillion and the charitable causes in which they are involved. I know it is unlikely, but hopefully the ratings will rebound at least a bit.
Rachmiel
February 4, 2015 @ 6:47 pm
How about the show being pre-empted by NFL football in major markets and by the college championship game? It seemed like the ratings were “revised” and took a dive after major pre-emption markets were factored in. Or did we have the same thing in Season 6 and the show did OK?
Syl
February 4, 2015 @ 2:34 pm
When episode 6×23 ended, I feared that, rather than hang in there to see where events were going, many viewers would turn away. And I think they did so, sometimes, ironically,
because of the very investment these folks had in the show. Season 6 was a wedding tease with some sort of planning occurring in almost every episode. In retrospect, we all should have suspected that the fairy tale wedding many viewers wanted probably wasn’t going to happen as planned. There were hints along the way, and the show itself has a history of surprises, sometimes frustrating surprises. In any event, many viewers felt disappointed and abused. The opening of season 7 with Castle’s disappearance and his altered memory of it, albeit intriguing, were odd and have gone unaddressed for over half of the season. Audiences are not patient. Expecting them to wait so long for an explanation of a very strange turn of events has undoubtedly turned off even
more viewers.
It’s a shame that people have evidently gravitated to other programs because, with the exception of an episode or two, I think they have missed a very good season of Castle. I have enjoyed the PI episodes, mostly because they have provided a clever vehicle for showing us the deepening love and respect that Castle and Beckett have for one another.
They promised to love each other and to be friends and partners, and that is what has happened so far. The role reversals have been fun to watch as well. For years Castle supported Beckett. Now it is her turn to support him. And I think that would have been harder to portray if all had remained status quo with Castle at the precinct. In the most recent episode, I especially liked Castle’s growing disenchantment with the ambiguity of private investigation. For me it echoed Beckett’s inability to accept the ethical compromises expected of her when she was a federal agent. This quiet scene emphasized an important quality that Castle and Beckett have in common. Kate’s urging Rick not to quit too hastily was just icing on the cake, so to speak.
I’m not sure that the new show runner is at fault for a ratings dip. Over the years, he has written some of the show’s most powerful episodes. And, I may be naive, but I don’t think
that the show’s creator would sit idly by and watch anyone drive Castle off the rails, especially when his wife is still one of the show’s writers and producers. A final thought: I
have read many online comments by viewers complaining that ABC does little to
promote Castle. I didn’t think much about that at the time I read those comments, but I have noticed that the ABC Thursday lineup does seem to get a lot of promotion. I don’t recall ever seeing such promotion of the ABC Monday lineup, or any other night, for that matter. Instead, the notion seems to be that people will watch Castle purely because it follows The Bachelor or Dancing With the Stars. Maybe it’s time for a little more aggressive marketing. If some of the viewers who have left would come back, I think many of them would be pleased with what has happened in their absence.
Bev Williams
February 7, 2015 @ 7:28 pm
I think you’ve nailed every pertinent point of why Castle seems to have been forgotten in the ratings. I have noticed two things that are different in ABC’s promotion of Castle: 1) Castle won 3 People’s Choice awards this year, and there is nary a mention of it by ABC. Here’s an opportunity to remind viewers how great it is, and does ABC premise Castle’s timeslot with “Congrats to Castle for winning 3 People’s Choice awards” or even “Watch People’s Choice winner Castle coming up next!” — NOPE. Also, 2) when Dancing with the Stars ends, Tom Bergeron always prompts Castle. The Bachelor, of course, doesn’t. Different audience dynamic, probably, but holy cow, come on, ABC, promote the show!!
Ken
February 4, 2015 @ 4:32 am
Castle hasn’t been as good for one simple reason. Richard Castle used to be smart and resourceful. Not now. Now he is bumbling and buffoonish.
Chris Peplinski
February 4, 2015 @ 1:56 am
I would say quite frankly diminished viewers are the reason for the decline.
Bev Williams
February 7, 2015 @ 7:28 pm
Well, duh!
Sally Ramsey
February 3, 2015 @ 11:38 pm
Here’s a strange idea, the economy. Castle has been an island of lightness in the midst of tragic heaviness. In hard times, that goes over like Shirley Temple did during the depression. Things have picked up, people may not need the boost as much as they did.
Buddy
February 3, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
Does not surprise me. There have been only 3 good episodes out of 13 for this season so far. S6E23 sucked and resulted somehow into the ridiculous missing Castle backstory and the even more ridiculous 3xk/Dr.Nieman back story they are trying to revive after 2 years. Learn from your successes – the Casket romance and murder of Beckett’s mother were two successful backstory because something (major or small) happened each week concerning them. Castle’s disappearance and revival of 3xk both suck because it has been 6 months to 2 years since any activity. Episode 13 was good because Beckett and Castle were together (why they were ever apart was stupid), the plot was interesting with false leads and twists and other characters made appearances. The whole premise of separating Castle and Beckett to concentrate on Castle was stupid. Early on there were back stories mainly concerning Beckett. However, the main story that drew the audiences was Beckett and Castle working together to solve homocides and do not forget this. Do forget everything about back stories and concentrate on the main theme. This has worked many times as demonstrated on NCIS, MASH, CSI, etc.
Aps13
February 3, 2015 @ 10:59 pm
I blame it all on the fact that The lead writer from the previous seasons(Andrew Marlowe) has now taken a step back and given the job of show runner and head writer to David Amaan who is just not as talented as Marlowe.