Despite the fact crime drama series Castle has yet to be renewed for a ninth season, it appears if the show does come back it will be filled with changes. Stana Katic has decided not to return as police captain Katherine Beckett. Also dropping from the cast is Tamala Jones, who played medical examiner Dr. Lanie Parish. Though the loss of Jones from the cast alone would come as a blow, fans are curious how the show will continue without Katic as her chemistry with Nathan Fillion who played main character Richard Castle was the driving force of the series. The characters become so close they were able to grow from colleagues, to lovers, and finally got married in season seven. What will the show become without her?
Speculatively, the show is primed to jump the shark (the expression used when a show goes far away from its original premise) without being centered on the relationship between Beckett and Castle. Since the first episode it was the interaction between the characters which made it possible for the series to have eight seasons. What will they do without this appeal? Try introducing a new character? A love interest for Castle with Beckett gone? Have the show focus more on Castle playing a private investigator? Whatever the case, the premise sounds weak without the dynamic of the Castle and Beckett relationship. It may be time to pack it up and call it quits. Without the magic which made the series so appealing, talks of cut backs, and major cast members jumping ship, the ninth season has all the makings of becoming another tacked on unneeded season in the same vein of Scrubs: Med School.
