‘Castle’ Season 8 Update: Stana Katic Yet To Ink New Contract, Nathan Fillion Signs New Deal

Stana Katic, who plays homicide detective Kate Beckett in “Castle,” has yet to sign on her new contract, while her co-actor Nathan Fillion, who plays best-selling writer Rick Castle, has signed on a new deal to star in the next season, according to multiple reports.

ABC, however, has still to officially confirm that it has renewed “Castle” for Season 8. But Fillion renewing his contract for one more year is almost a confirmation that there will be another season of "Castle." Katic is still negotiating with ABC Studios, the producer of “Castle,” according to Deadline. The contracts of Fillion, Katic and rest of the original cast members were up for renewal after the end of Season 7.

The new season, however, will be returning with a new showrunner, as the current creative head David Amann is stepping down. Creator of “Castle” Andrew Marlowe had handed over the showrunner baton to Amann after "Castle" Season 6 wrapped up. It is being reported that Amann is stepping down to seek new opportunities. There is no news on who will be replacing him, but according to Entertainment Weekly, “search underway for a new lead writer-producer.” This, too, indicates that ABC will be including "Castle" Season 8 when it announces its 2015 fall season line-up.

Despite stepping down as the showrunner, Marlowe continued to remain involved with “Castle.” He wrote two episodes and has also co-written “Castle” Season 7 finale. He reportedly is not returning to helm the project. Deadline has reported that he will most probably exit the show.

“Castle” Season 7 finale is schedule to air on May 11. It will be returning after two week break on April 20, with episode 20. The episode will be revisiting Castle’s disappearance mystery and answer some of the questions related to what had happened, though the episode is unlikely to provide all the details related to Castle's mythology. Seamus Dever, who plays detective Ryan on the show, had hinted that “Castle” Season 7 will end on a cliff-hanger. The final episode of the current episode is a high stake episode that will deal with Beckett and Castle mythology, according to Amann. The penultimate episode of “Castle” Season 7 is the 150th episode of the series.

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