Rumours of the cancellation of ABC network's popular show "Castle" have been doing the rounds for quite a while now. Sometime back, rumours suggested that the show might be renewed after all. However, much to the disappointment of fans, the new season of the show was officially cancelled just a week before the finale of Season 8 aired.

A report on Yibada gives the reasons why the show had to be cancelled. ABC network's new president Channing Dungey opened up during the Television Critics Association's press tour, which was held on the 4^th of August. The president revealed that actresses Stana Katic and Tamala Jones had been asked to prepare for the upcoming season. However, both Katic, who portrays Detective Kate Beckett on the show, and Jones, who plays medical examiner Lanie Parish, reportedly decided to opt out of appearing on the new season.

Given that the two ladies play pretty major roles on the show, it was evident that "Castle" was headed towards its end.

But in spite of all this, there could be some truth to earlier rumours that the ninth season of the show might have been in the works. Vine Report states that a storyline had been created by the writers and producers in case a renewal happened.

But it looks like the show isn't returning for a new season, after all. Dungey went on to explain the backup storyline. "That's a case where you have things running on two parallel tracks. We were always upfront with the studio and producers that we might not be bringing the show back for Season 9. [The studio/producers] did what they had to do [in case there was another season]. Ultimately, we did not feel like it was the right thing to do to order another season," he said.

Still, there seems to be some good news for fans as a possible spinoff is rumoured to happen, although there's no official confirmation regarding this conjecture yet.