It's been a few months now since ABC cancelled Castle just a short time after some of the series leads had renewed their contracts and others had been fired. The show ended up rather abruptly, and recently, series lead Nathan Fillion spoke out about how he feels about what happened to Castle. Here's what he had to say:
It wasn't the beautiful send-off that I think maybe you could hope for, but it's the entertainment industry, it's a business, I get it. I don't take it personally when a show gets canceled --- I can't take it personally, all my shows gets canceled! Look at my resume, it's a long list of canceled TV shows.
That comment about it not being a beautiful send-off might be the understatement of the year. Due to the cancellation, Castle had set up a season finale that could have ended on a cliffhanger. Instead, the show opted to flash forward at the very end to give fans a much happier ending. That happy ending showed them seven years later, together and with three children. I guess it sort-of closed the book on the Caskett story, but it was hardly an inspired ending.
The good news is that Nathan Fillion has an extremely reasonable perspective about the TV business. As the star of the short-lived Firefly, Nathan Fillion is practically the poster boy for cancelled TV series. His comments indicate that he understands the way the business works and that he doesn't have any hard feelings about Castle not getting ordered for another round. It probably helps that Castle did earn eight full seasons at the network before getting the axe. It also probably helps that Fillion had a good experience on the set. He also told the NY Post that he's grateful for the experience.
The fact is, I made a lot of great friends on a really great show. I'm really happy for everything that that show has done for me.
Following the end of Castle, most of the show's leads quickly found new gigs. Nathan Fillion is currently playing Rainer Shine on Modern Family. Jon Huertas is on This is Us. Stana Katic had an indie movie, Sister Cities, that went to Lifetime. Castle clearly opened doors for other opportunities at other networks, and hopefully that success will continue for each of the actors over time. Still, we surely and sorely miss Caskett and co., and there's at least the teensiest feeling of regret left in the show's wake, especially since the series didn't get the carefully crafted ending that after eight seasons it surely deserved.
To find out what ABC is airing in Castle's stead, check out our fall TV premiere schedule.
