While Nathan Fillion may be saving the day on his ABC procedural comedy-drama The Rookie, the fan-favorite actor previously thrilled audiences on Castle as its eponymous, crime-fighting protagonist Richard Castle. Also airing on ABC from 2009 to 2016, Castle was tentatively slated to reach its ninth season — only to be abruptly canceled. Richard Castle was introduced as a best-selling mystery author brought in to consult with the New York Police Department after a copycat murder mimicked the plot of one of Castle’s novels.
Castle worked closely with police detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) while shadowing her as inspiration for his new novel series. While there was initially friction between Castle and Beckett due to Castle’s more immature personality and Beckett’s by-the-book professionalism, they became friends before falling in love and getting married in Castle Season 7. The end of Season 8 — which turned out to be the series finale — featured a baffling flash-forward showing Castle and Beckett as parents of three children. So what went wrong?
