Castle (TV series)

Castle
Genre	Police procedural Drama Crime
Created by	Andrew W. Marlowe
Starring	Nathan Fillion Stana Katic Susan Sullivan Molly Quinn Jon Huertas Tamala Jones Seamus Dever Ruben Santiago-Hudson Penny Johnson Jerald Toks Olagundoye
Composer(s)	Robert Duncan Kim Planert
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	161 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Andrew W. Marlowe Rob Bowman Laurie Zaks Nathan Fillion Stana Katic Barry Schindel David Amann Armyan Bernstein
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	43 minutes
Production company(s)	ABC Studios Beacon Pictures Experimental Pictures The Barry Schindel Company Milmar Pictures
Distributor	Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Release
Original network	ABC
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	March 9, 2009 (2009-03-09) – present (present)
External links
Website

Castle is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced jointly by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. Created by Andrew W. Marlowe, it primarily traces the lives of Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), a best-selling mystery novelist, and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), an NYPD homicide detective, as they solve various unusual crimes in New York City. Detective Beckett is initially infuriated at the thought of working with a writer and goes to great lengths to keep him out of her way. However, the two soon start developing feelings for each other. The overarching plot of the series focuses on the romance between the two lead characters, and the murder of Beckett's mother.

Premise

Castle follows Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a famous mystery novelist who has killed off the main character in his popular book series and has writer's block. He is brought in by the NYPD for questioning regarding a copy-cat murder based on one of his novels. He is intrigued by this new window into crime and murder, and uses his connection with the mayor to charm his way into shadowing Detective Kate Beckett, played by Stana Katic. Castle decides to use Beckett as his muse for Nikki Heat, the main character of his next book series. Beckett, an avid reader of Castle's books, initially disapproves of having Castle shadow her work, but later warms up and recognizes Castle as a useful resource in her team's investigations.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Nathan Fillion as Richard Edgar Castle/Richard Alexander Rodgers, a best-selling mystery writer. Plagued with writer's block after killing off his popular lead character, Derrick Storm, whom he no longer found inspiring, Castle finds himself involved in the case of a copycat killer recreating murder scenes from his novels. He discovers a new source of inspiration in Kate Beckett, the detective leading the investigation, so he uses his friendship with the mayor of New York to become involved in her investigations as a civilian consultant. He regularly uses his knowledge and talent to help solve murders, usually by taking evidence and assembling it into a narrative to explain their current case. He is twice-divorced and shares an apartment with his daughter and his mother. Earlier seasons of the show depict him as an immature womanizer; however, later seasons show a more mature and sensible side of him, albeit only slightly. During a suspension where he is no longer welcome in the 12th Precinct, he achieves qualifications as a Private Investigator and begins operating his own PI Office, even after he is welcomed back to the NYPD. His close working relationship with Beckett results in him falling in love with her. They get together in the start of season five. He proposes at the end of the fifth season, the two become engaged in season six, and they marry in the seventh season. In the eighth season, Beckett takes personal interest in a case for which the dangerous nature causes her to distance herself from Castle. In fear of his marriage, Castle attempts to pursue and keep up with a distancing Beckett.

• Stana Katic as Captain Katherine Houghton "Kate" Beckett, formerly a homicide detective with the NYPD's 12th Precinct. Beckett is a first-class investigator who has gained a reputation for being intrigued by unusual cases. She joined the force after her mother was murdered in an unsolved case.^[1] After meeting Beckett, Castle is inspired to begin a new series of novels about a female NYPD detective named Nikki Heat, clearly based on Beckett. Initially cold and hard towards Castle, she soon warms up to him and eventually falls in love with him. In the fourth season finale, Beckett resigns from the NYPD after she and Det. Esposito hide vital information regarding a case from Captain Gates, but later reneges on this and is allowed to return after she serves her suspension. She also ties the death of her mother to a high profile corruption scandal involving a local Senator William Bracken, who is running for President on dirty money. She also briefly works as a Special Investigator for the Attorney General early in season six before returning to the NYPD. In the first episodes of season five, it becomes clear that Kate and Castle are in an intimate relationship. The two become engaged at the start of the sixth season and get married in season seven. Unable to forgive the Senator for the death of her mother, her pursuit puts her life at risk until she is able to find a taped conversation that had been hidden by her mother, successfully leading to the Senator's arrest. She is offered the opportunity to run for New York State Senate at the end of season seven, but is revealed to have been promoted to Captain in season eight. She is then tied into a deeper personal investigation involving a deeper CIA scandal behind the Senator's rise to power. The investigation causes her to distance herself from Castle for his safety.

• Jon Huertas as Detective Javier "Javi"/"Espo" Esposito, a former Army Special Forces soldier who now works in the homicide division as part of Beckett's team. He is always ready with a sardonic comment to keep Beckett on her toes and enjoys the way Castle riles her. He recognizes Castle's and Beckett's attraction from the start and sometimes advises Beckett on her relation to Castle. He and Kevin Ryan are close friends, even though they constantly argue about obscure facts.^[2] He has a brief relationship with Dr. Lanie Parish in the third season, which ends with things being awkward between them, making them unable to work around each other for some time. He is suspended from the NYPD for hiding vital information from Captain Gates in a case concerning Beckett's well-being. In that case, he felt betrayed by his partner, Det. Kevin Ryan. He has since been reinstated on the force and has reconciled with Ryan. Towards the seventh and eighth seasons, he can be seen reconciling with Lanie, hinting towards a more mature relationship with her, though it is never explicitly stated. In season eight, he passes exams that promote him to the rank of Sergeant.

• Seamus Dever as Detective Kevin Ryan, a former Narcotics detective who also works as part of Beckett's team. He and Esposito regularly tease Beckett, but they are also protective of her.^[3] The character was a late addition to the show as the original presentation pilot was only 37 minutes long.^[4] Ryan marries his girlfriend, Jenny O'Malley, in season four. In the final episode of season four, Ryan fails to support Beckett and his partner Esposito, which jeopardizes his partnership with the two of them, although they reconcile later. In season five he is revealed to have worked undercover in the Irish mob. In season six, Jenny gives birth to their daughter, Sarah Grace Ryan. In season eight, he also takes the sergeant's exam with Esposito, but does not pass, resulting in more conflict and awkwardness in his relationship with Esposito.

• Tamala Jones as Dr. Lanie Parish, a medical examiner with an upbeat outlook. She is a friend of Beckett and is one of the few people Beckett can talk to easily and without reservation. Parish notices the personal connection between Beckett and Castle and urges her to act on it.^[5] In the third season, Lanie and Esposito begin a relationship they believe is secret, though the other main characters are aware of it. They later break up, making it awkward for them to work together for a time, but have since reconciled.

• Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Captain Roy Montgomery (seasons 1–3), Beckett's boss and Captain of the 12th Precinct. Montgomery appreciates Beckett's determination and diligence but maintains a close watch to make sure the investigations go smoothly. He is amused by how much Castle annoys Beckett but also appreciates how effectively the two work together. At the end of the third season, he is killed after staging a trap to capture a hired killer involved in the conspiracy that killed Beckett's mother.^[6] In the sixth-season episode "Veritas", Beckett recalls Montgomery's telling her, before she became a detective, to look through her mother's belongings for a clue in her murder. She finds a tape in which Bracken discusses the murder of Bob Armen and framing Joe Pulgatti, admitting to blackmailing the three cops over ransom money, intention to kill Johanna Beckett and admitting to previous murders.

• Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle, Castle's teenage daughter by his first wife, Meredith. Alexis is unusually intelligent for her age, and is often more mature and responsible than her father. She is very bright and enjoys school. A running gag in the series has her begging Castle to force her to study and do her homework instead of "fun" activities like parties and overnight trips. Her social and interpersonal issues often parallel some aspect of the case Castle and Beckett are investigating, and Castle sometimes asks her opinion on a killer's motivation. She attends New York University and is later seen to be working very closely with Castle in his PI Office, often accepting and solving many cases in the background unbeknownst to her father. She spent time building a mentor relationship with Lanie when shadowing her in the morgue. When working in Castle's PI Office, she built a friendship with Hayley Shipton often receiving advice from her about interrogation and investigative methods.^[7]

• Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers, Castle's mother, an actress on and off Broadway. She lives with him and Alexis after an ex-husband has run off with her life savings.^[8] She helps her son through the difficulties of raising a teenage girl (even one as mature as Alexis) but also has an active social life of her own. She is free-spirited and often gives Castle valuable advice (which he seldom follows) regarding Beckett.

• Penny Johnson Jerald as Captain Victoria Gates (seasons 4–7), Captain Montgomery's replacement. Formerly with Internal Affairs, Captain Gates (referred to by some as "Iron Gates") is more interested in career advancement and takes a dimmer view than her predecessor of the Beckett-Castle dynamic.^[9] Strict and unforgiving, she loathes Castle's presence at the precinct, regarding him as an unprofessional, distracting and juvenile presence who interferes with the way she would prefer to run things. As the series progresses, she comes to tolerate Castle and even grudgingly accepts that he is useful for solving cases. Though her outright hostility fades, she is nonetheless strictly by the book, and still willing to beat Castle with it when needed. She is forced to remove Castle as an NYPD consultant when the DA's office learns about his friendship with a mob boss, but reinstates him after he rescues Beckett from Dr. Nieman and 3XK. At the beginning of season eight, the character is promoted to Deputy Chief and reassigned to One Police Plaza.

• Toks Olagundoye as Hayley Shipton (season 8), a quick-witted, free-spirited former MPS cop who now works as a security specialist. She also builds a friendship with Castle and Alexis, and Beckett and her team, sometimes helping Beckett with investigations, and other times assisting Castle and Alexis.^[10]

Recurring characters

• Maya Stojan as Tory Ellis, an NYPD Tech officer who assists on Beckett's cases.

• Arye Gross as Dr. Sidney Perlmutter, a medical examiner who assists on some of Beckett's cases and does little to hide his dislike of Castle.

• Juliana Dever as Jenny Ryan (née O'Malley), Ryan's wife.

• Michael Trucco as Detective Tom Demming, a handsome robbery detective with whom Beckett briefly becomes involved and whom Castle immediately dislikes.

• Monet Mazur as Gina Cowell, Castle's publisher and second ex-wife. Their personal relationship has been known to conflict with their professional one, with unfortunate results.

• Victor Webster as Dr. Josh Davidson, Beckett's motorcycle-riding, cardiac-surgeon ex-boyfriend to whom Castle repeatedly refers as "motorcycle boy" and "doctor motorcycle boy".

• Ken Baumann as Ashley, Alexis' steady boyfriend. Alexis broke up with him after Castle and his mother were involved in a hostage situation and Ashley was nowhere to be found to help her through it.

• Scott Paulin as Jim Beckett, Kate Beckett's father.

• Bailey Chase as Will Sorenson, an FBI agent and Beckett's ex-boyfriend who wants to reconcile but immediately recognizes Beckett's attraction to Castle.

• Michael Dorn as Dr. Carter Burke, a psychiatrist who helps Beckett overcome her shooting and also deal with her various hidden emotions.

• Geoff Pierson as Mr. Smith, a friend of Captain Montgomery, who holds evidence that keeps the murderer of Beckett's mother away from Beckett; Smith occasionally acts through Castle to protect Beckett. He appeared to have been killed in "After the Storm," but in the episode "Veritas," it is revealed that he faked his death in order to operate in the shadows.

• Darby Stanchfield as Meredith, an actress who was Castle's first wife and Alexis's mother. She is regularly portrayed as self-centered and dramatic.

• Michael Mosley as Jerry Tyson/the Triple Killer (3XK), a methodical and meticulous serial killer who returns to New York every few years to terrorize the city. After being identified by Castle, Tyson turns his attentions to the 12th Precinct, variously targeting members of Beckett's team. He is shot and presumed to be dead in "Probable Cause" though Castle expresses doubts about it. It is suggested that he is still alive during the events of "Disciple", but the episode also explores the implications of his death, which leave Castle and Beckett disturbed. His story arc is resolved in the two-part episode "Resurrection"/"Reckoning". In "Resurrection", Tyson reappears but claims to be another person who just looks like him. With all the evidence against him, including DNA that could positively identify him missing (see the episode "Disciple") Beckett and Castle are unable to prove his identity. In collaboration with his disciple, Dr. Neiman, he kidnaps Beckett. In "Reckoning", Castle and the 12th Precinct follow the metaphorical breadcrumbs he leaves in a race to rescue Beckett. Castle's insight into the mindset and methods of Tyson allow the team to draw him out where he is killed by Esposito using a sniper rifle.

• Jack Coleman as William Bracken, a popular and charismatic Senator representing the State of New York with ambitions of one day becoming President. He presents himself falsely as an honest man looking out for special interests, but is revealed in the season 5 premiere to be highly corrupt and the person directly responsible for having Johanna Beckett murdered.

• James Brolin as a CIA deep-cover operative whose real name remains unknown; instead he has gone by aliases such as "Jackson Hunt" and "Anderson Cross". He is treated as a near-mythical figure in the intelligence community, and is revealed to be Castle's father in the two-part episode "Target" and "Hunt". Despite the loneliness of his profession, he has maintained indirect contact with his son.

• Phil LaMarr as Dr. Holloway, a psychiatrist who evaluates the mental stability of suspects.

• Myko Olivier as Pi, Alexis's boyfriend at the beginning of season six, with whom she shares an apartment for a while (much to Castle's dismay).

• Sunkrish Bala as Vikram Singh, a highly strung tech analyst with the Attorney General's office in Washington D.C., where Beckett briefly worked. He escapes a series of hits on Beckett's former colleagues in D.C. to warn her of the danger she is in. It emerges in the season eight premiere that Beckett's old team has been eliminated because of a routine inquiry she made about Senator Bracken while she was working there, which unwittingly, and belatedly, may have uncovered a major CIA scandal.^[11]

Real-life writers Stephen J. Cannell, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, and Michael Connelly appear as themselves during periodic games of poker at Castle's apartment. Typically, they discuss Castle and Beckett's current case and tease Castle about his involvement with Beckett. On September 30, 2010, Cannell died in real life. The characters kept an empty chair at the poker table in his honor for a year.

Broadcast history

Castle premiered as a midseason replacement on ABC on March 9, 2009. ABC renewed Castle for a second season with an initial order of 13 episodes; ABC later extended the order to 22, then 24 episodes.^[12][13] The second season premiered on Monday, September 21, 2009.^[14] In March 2010, ABC renewed Castle for a third, 22-episode season, which began on September 20, 2010.^[15] On November 11, 2010, ABC extended the episode order to 24.^[16] On January 10, 2011, ABC announced Castle had been renewed for a fourth season for 22 episodes.^[17] Season four premiered on September 19, 2011.^[18] On December 8, 2011, ABC ordered an additional episode bringing season 4 up to 23 episodes.^[19] On May 10, 2012, Castle was renewed for a fifth season by ABC,^[20] which started on Monday September 24, 2012.^[21] Two additional episodes were ordered on October 19, 2012, and February 5, 2013, respectively. This brings season 5 up to a total of 24 episodes.^[22][23][24] On May 10, 2013, ABC announced via Twitter that Castle had been renewed for a sixth season.^[25] On May 8, 2014, ABC renewed the series for a seventh season,^[26] which premiered on September 29, 2014.^[27] On May 7, 2015, the series was renewed for its eighth season.^[28] The eighth season premiered on September 21, 2015.^[29]

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Season	Time slot (ET)	No. of episodes	Premiered		Ended		TV Season	Rank	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale viewers (in millions)
1	Monday 10:00 pm	10	March 9, 2009	10.76[31]	May 11, 2009	9.96[32]	2009	No. 41	10.19[33]
2		24	September 21, 2009	9.26[34]	May 17, 2010	10.07[35]	2009–2010	No. 30	10.25[36]
3		24	September 20, 2010	10.70[37]	May 16, 2011	12.93[38]	2010–2011	No. 30	11.44[39]
4		23	September 19, 2011	13.28[40]	May 7, 2012	12.36[41]	2011–2012	No. 22	12.18[42]
5		24	September 24, 2012	10.45[43]	May 13, 2013	11.16[44]	2012–2013	No. 19	12.26[45]
6		23	September 23, 2013	11.48[46]	May 12, 2014	10.59[47]	2013–2014	No. 13	12.63[48]
7		23	September 29, 2014	10.75[49]	May 11, 2015	8.44[50]	2014–2015	No. 37	10.69[51]
8		22	September 21, 2015	6.84[52]	N/A	N/A	2015–2016	N/A	N/A

The season 2 episode "Boom!" (the finale of a two-part episode featuring Dana Delany) not only attracted the highest audience of the series' run (14.5 million viewers) but was also the highest-rated show on ABC in its time slot in 14 years.^[15]

DVD releases

Syndication

In June 2011, TNT acquired exclusive cable rights from Disney-ABC Domestic Television to air the first two seasons of Castle beginning in the summer of 2012.^[76] In advance of the series' fourth season, TNT broadcast an eight-hour marathon of episodes on September 15, 2011, including five from season 3.^[77] Castle began airing on TNT every Wednesday beginning September 26, 2012.^[78] Castle also began airing in broadcast syndication on weekends beginning September 29, 2012.^[79]

Tie-in works

In the series, Castle writes a novel titled Heat Wave. As a tie-in, ABC and sister publisher Hyperion Books released that novel as a real book (ISBN 978-1-4013-2382-0) with "Richard Castle" as the author. It is entirely in character from the dedication to the acknowledgments, although the latter mentions the principal cast and the show's creators by first name.^[80] ABC released the first half of the novel in weekly increments on their website.^[81] The complete novel was published in September 2009 as a hardcover, debuting at No. 26 on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[82] In its fourth week on the list, Heat Wave broke into the top 10 at #6.^[83] Heat Wave was released in paperback (ISBN 978-1-4013-1040-0) on July 27, 2010 and debuted at No. 34 on The New York Times Best Seller Paperback Mass-Market list.^[84] It once again appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list on May 27, 2012 at #19.^[85]

Naked Heat (ISBN 978-1-4013-2402-5), the sequel to Heat Wave, was released on September 28, 2010.^[86] Naked Heat debuted at No. 7 on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[87] As they did with Heat Wave, ABC released a series of the early chapters online as a promotional tool.^[88]

A third novel, titled Heat Rises (ISBN 978-1-4013-2443-8), was released on September 20, 2011.^[89] It debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list on October 9, 2011^[90][91] and at No. 5 on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list.^[92]

The season three finale introduced a graphic novel based on Castle's previous novel character, Derrick Storm. Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm was published by Marvel Comics on September 28, 2011.^[93] It debuted at No. 3 on The New York Times Best Seller list on October 16, 2011.^[94] This has been followed by three more graphic novels, published a year apart.

A fourth novel, titled Frozen Heat (ISBN 978-1-4013-2444-5), was released on September 11, 2012,^[95] and debuted on The New York Times Best Seller list at No. 7 on September 23, 2012.^[96]

The fifth Nikki Heat novel Deadly Heat was released September 17, 2013 and debuted at No. 8 on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[97]

Raging Heat, the sixth novel, was released on September 16, 2014. It landed on No. 6 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list^[98] and on No. 17 on New York Times Combined Print and E-Book Fiction bestseller list^[99] on October 5, 2014.

The seventh novel, Driving Heat,^[100] was released on September 15, 2015.^[101] It debuted on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list at No. 13^[102] on October 4, 2015.

In February 2012, Hyperion announced three e-book novellas as part of Richard Castle's famous Derrick Storm series. The first novella of the series, A Brewing Storm, was released in digital media on May 1, 2012. It debuted at No. 13 on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best Seller list,^[103] as well as No. 18 on The New York Times Combine Prints & E-book Fiction list^[104] on May 20, 2012.

On July 3, 2012, the second novella of the new Derrick Storm books, A Raging Storm, was released in e-book format. It landed on The New York Times Best Seller e-books list at #19^[105] and at No. 31 for the combined Prints & E-book list, both on July 22, 2012.^[106]

The final Derrick Storm novella, A Bloody Storm, was released on August 7, 2012. It debuted on The New York Times Best Seller e-books list at #20^[107] and at #34^[108] on the combined Prints & E-book list on August 26, 2012.

Derrick Storm television series

On August 20, 2014, ABC announced that the early development stage has begun on a television series centered on Derrick Storm. The series will be a CIA procedural written by Gregory Poirier, who will executive-produce with Castle's Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller.^[109]

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Castle (TV series)

• Official website
• Castle at the Internet Movie Database
• Castle at TV.com
• Castle at TV Guide
• Castle ratings at TV by the Numbers