The upcoming season of the crime drama television series "Castle" will be a bit forlorn as actress Penny Johnson Jerald confirmed not to be returning as her role as Captain Gates. However, ABC's president Paul Lee has revealed that eighth season will not be its last for the show.
Actress Penny Johnson Jerald has confirmed that she's not reprising her role as Captain Victoria Gates in the season eight of "Castle," Fashion and Style reports. The actress took her announcement to Twitter and appeared to be even stunned with her exclusion for the upcoming season.
"To my Castle fans around the world, as of late yesterday I am surprised and saddened to learn that I will no longer be a part of the Castle family. Thank you all for your support and love. Hugs from PJJ," she wrote.
Johnson Jerald's departure is not her own decision but the new showrunners, whom were recently hired by ABC. According to Vinereport, "Castle" will be having "major tweaks" for the next season as two new showrunners were appointed to replace the executive producers Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller.
Terence Paul Winter and Alexi Hawley will take over the roles; the latter even made a caveat for the fans in an interview with Entertainment Weekly (via Enstarz). "Going into season 8, it feels like it's time to shake things up a little bit," Hawley said.
Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Stana Katic (Beckett) have signed new contracts to reprise their roles for the season eight.
Meanwhile, in a separate article by EW, ABC's President Paul Lee told that season eight will not be the show's last season and assured that the show will continue for "many years to come."
Are you excited for the major changes of "Castle" season eight? It is set to premiere in the fall on ABC and will still hold its Mondays, 10 p.m. ET/PT timeslot.
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