Just over a month prior to Castle’s eight-season cancellation, it was revealed that Tamala Jones, who played medical examiner Lanie Parish, and star Stana Katic, who played Detective Kate Beckett, would not be returning. This news gave fans of the long-running procedural hope that the show would be renewed. However, new ABC President Channing Dungey clarified why the series would be canceled following Katic’s public ousting.
But as Dungey clarified on Thursday during the TCA press tour, the studio had let the two actresses go in anticipation of a possible renewal; nonetheless, ABC ultimately chose not to proceed with season 9.
In conclusion
There are sort of two parallel tracks going on in that situation, according to Dungey. “We have always been very transparent with the studio and the producers regarding the likelihood that we won’t be returning for season 9, but the studio needs to make the necessary preparations in case season 9 happens. They took the necessary actions to ensure they were prepared in case they received the go-ahead. In the end, the network did not think that ordering a second season was the best course of action.
