An uncertain future for Castle

Nathan Fillion fans across North America and the world have been watching recent events with a sense of fear and dread. 

While the Canadian actor has signed a contract for another year of ABC’s Castle, other stars of the series have not – including Fillion’s co-star and mystery-solving partner, Stana Katic.

And what’s worse is that ABC has not yet renewed the mystery drama either.

It seems that the latter could be waiting for the former.

Katic, another Canuck actor, has said as recently as last fall that she’d rather leave a show and a character at its peak, instead of seeing the storylines get stale. But could Castle continue without his muse?

Over the decades, many shows have faced this obstacle.  Spin City replaced Michael J. Fox with Charlie Sheen in season five.  In the ’80s, Kirstie Alley stepped in to the female lead after Shelley Long left the bar on Cheers.  Even the ’60s Bewitched replaced its Darren, Dick York with another Dick.  ­Sar­gent, that is. And nobody even noticed. 

So it can be done.

But more often than not, audiences must accept a fundamental change in the storyline, the style, and the make-up of the cast. 

When David Caruso left NYPD Blue, writers had to shift the storyline from being centered around one particular cop, to an ensemble style of writing.  And Cheers shifted from romantic to a more situational comedy since Ted Danson and Kirstie Alley were not going to fall in love.

However, it’s a little more difficult when the show is essentially designed around the relationship between two characters. 

Richard Castle’s activities in the police station are solely limited to his tag-along work with Kate.  She gives the orders and he doesn’t do anything without an officer by his side.  So when she’s no longer working at the precinct, neither is he – as was the case when she joined the FBI.

That fundamental partnership is the reason that Laverne and Shirley died a quick death after Shirley left in 1982.

Then there’s the basic character development.  Katic is the straight man to Fillion’s childlike comedy.  Taking her away is like removing one half of Laurel and Hardy. 

There’s also the little problem of one particular previous episode that involved a man from the future who came back in time to save mankind and walked in on a murder. I choose to believe he was not delusional and that his comments about Rick and Kate’s future, including three kids and a Senate seat, will one day come true. 

Viewers have invested a lot of years in this relationship and they don’t want anything less than a “happily ever after” for the couple. 

However, it’s unlikely ABC would invest in a refurbished Castle since its numbers have been drooping in recent years and core viewers would hardly accept a replacement Kate. 

Like other fans, I’m not ready to say goodbye just yet.  But it would be better than throwing away seven years together.