'Castle' Season 8 News: Staite Guest Stars; Katic and Jones to Exit After Season 8
The ABC hit series "Castle," now on its eighth-season run, will be having "Firefly" actress Jewel Staite over in episode 20. Staite will be taking the role of a director for a Shakespearean play. The show's executive producer Alexi Hawley announced that the guest star has already concluded filming her episode.
Enlarging on the significance of Staite's role in the upcoming episode, Hawley tells Entertainment Weekly, "Episode 20 is our nod to Shakespeare and our nod to Hollywood action stars going to do Broadway with mixed results."
Another actress makes related "Castle" news, Stana Katic. The actress was confirmed to be exiting the series at the end of the season. A shakeup of the series in order to cut back on its costs for production is the reason for the network not renewing Katic's contract. In fact, another actress on the show, Tamala Jones, will also be taking this season as a final run.
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Katic plays Detective Katie Beckett on the show, the NYPD police captain, while Jones plays Lanie Parish, the medical examiner.
In a statement on Collider, a network representative has said of the two cast members, "Kate Beckett has been a beloved character on our hit series Castle for the past 8 years. We are grateful for Stana Katic's talent and dedication to the series and we hope to continue our relationship. Tamala Jones has also been an integral part of the series and we are grateful she was a part of Castle."
Katic has not commented on the reasons for her exit, merely expressing her gratitude to the network for the opportunity on the show, and her thanks to fans.
Nathan Fillion, who plays the title role of Richard Castle who played opposite Katic's Beckett, is returning for a 13-episode season nine on the show. Although ABC has ideas for future seasons of the show, renewal for the series has not been confirmed as yet.
"Castle" season 8 airs on ABC Mondays at 10 p.m. Its final episode is on May 16.
