Season 8 of "Castle" will see a lot of changes as the hit ABC series has new showrunners, Terence Paul Winter and former "The Following" showrunner Alexi Hawley. The two recently talked about their plans for this season and how season 8 will be more focused on the characters.
Hawley told The Hollywood Reporter that they have talked about simplifying the cases to make room for character development, so fans can expect the show to be less procedural and more fun. The showrunners also discusssed the season 8 premiere, where Beckett (Stana Katic) went missing and the story was told in Castle's (Nathan Fillion) perspective.
"We get to be serious, emotional, scary, and all those things," Hawley said about the episode titled "XY."
The episode showed Beckett in her new job as the captain and Alexis (Molly Quinn) now working in the private investigator's office and helping her father to solve cases. The premiere also saw the debut of Toks Olagundoye's character Hayley Shipton, who is now working with Castle on the ground while Beckett focuses on her job.
"What's exciting is Hayley is not paired with Castle," said Winter to THR. "She's not paired with Beckett. However, we have episodes where she is working with Castle. She's working with Beckett… she's working with the boys."
Winter revealed that Hayley also becomes a big sister figure to Alexis as she figures out if being a private investigator is in the cards for her.
Olagundoye's addition to the cast initially made some Castle and Beckett fans anxious as it was speculated that her character could possibly come between the couple, but it was earlier confirmed that the actress is not playing a new love interest for Castle.
Speaking to TVLine, the "Neighbors" alum said that after 21 years as an actor, she would have "resented" being brought into a show as someone's love interest.
"It's not a soap opera," Olagundoye said of the ABC series. "I do like showing, 'Yeah, there are women in this world who aren't just looking for guys.' It's kind of cool."
Part 2 of the "Castle" season 8 premiere titled "XX" airs on Monday, Sept. 28, at 10 p.m. on ABC.
