Fans Storm the Castle to #SaveCaskettAlways

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Castle fans have spent the past two weeks waving their arms in the air in a frantic attempt to get ABC’s attention. Rather than repeat entreaties from past years to save Castle from cancellation, these dedicated fans are insisting the network to do the opposite. That’s right. Castle fans launched a campaign to persuade ABC to cancel what was once a favorite show. Caskett fans who do not want Castle to continue without Stana Katic’s Kate Beckett are rewriting the cancellation playbook by demanding Castle’s burial.

Kate_Beckett_detective
Stana Katic as Kate Beckett, castle.wikia.com

Typically during renewal season fans implore networks to spare their favorite low-rated shows from the chopping block. They launch petitions and social media campaigns telling networks that they love said shows and, “Please, oh please, could you keep them around for one more year?” Fans beg like supplicants hoping faceless suits will recognize them as more than numbers in a Nielsen chart.

Castle fans are subverting this pattern and reminding ABC that fans not networks control those Nielsen ratings. At this moment ABC executives are pouring over charts and spreadsheets to decide whether or not to greenlight Castle for a truncated ninth season. To make renewal more appealing and cost effective ABC dismissed Castle’s female lead and retained its male lead. Fans reacted to the news of Stana Katic’s departure with anger and incredulity. Why would ABC consider moving Castle forward without Kate Beckett? Worse – why would the network destroy Castle’s syndication appeal by killing off one half of its popular onscreen couple? An onscreen couple, by the way, that ABC taught fans to invest in.

rick and beckett

These invested fans opened a rare “Cancel Our Show to Save It” petition on change.org which has more than 5,000 signatures to date. The petition connects the firing of Stana Katic and Tamala Jones to Hollywood’s habit of treating female actors like replaceable wind-up dolls whose best quality is their unquestioning compliance.

castle petition

Some fans continue to watch the show and tweet farewell warnings to ABC promising to skip a Beckettless Castle. Others refuse to watch current episodes and engage in targeted Twitter attacks to drive down Castle’s twitter presence by avoiding use of the word “Castle” and replacing it with hashtags like #SaveCaskettAlways and #LetBeckettLive. All of these fans would rather see the network keep Kate Beckett alive by killing Castle than watch a bastardized Season Nine.

Castle fans have made their position clear. Should ABC decide to kill off Kate Beckett and refashion Rick Castle as a free-wheelin’ PI about town, he will be solving crimes without an audience. ABC should listen to fans that spend time and emotional energy lobbying for the cancellation of a show they once loved. Such campaigns are rare and can’t be good for business.

Respect the fans, Let Beckett Live, and Save Caskett.

#CancelCASTLE

 

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39 Comments »

  4. After following this series on ABC for 8 years I am absolutely disgusted by this act of betrayal to the fans of the show by the network! The fact that a female recently took the helm of the entertainment section of ABC adds insult to injury! I have no intention of ever watching ABC again, there are certainly enough channels around now to leave this station high and dry! To destroy 8 years of strong support from loyal fans and then destroy the show and taint the memories of the past seasons it unforgivable. Beckett (Stana Katic) was the soul of this show and to turn it into a sad joke and insult it’s female viewers by turfing the strong female lead is it for many viewers.

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    • I understand your outrage. The execs appear to think about money and little else. I will never know why they are choosing to sacrifice all of the goodwill they have built up with Castle fans.

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    • Wow! No “Once Upon A Time”, “The Goldbergs”, “Modern Family”, “How To Get Away With Murder”, “The Catch”, “Scandal”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, or “Last Man Standing”. I love ABC!

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  8. I have been a castle fan since season 1 .I am 73 .I look forward to watching on Monday at my age I can wait until Monday comes on.So do what you want but just don’t ask me to watch ???? I think it goes for everybody ????? So sorry.FROM a CASTLE FAN .

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    • Don’t apologize. If you want to watch the show and you enjoy it then by all means watch it. I will be very sorry to let the show go, but I understand that others want to keep up with it. Blindspot is pretty good though. It is on NBC at the same time as Castle.

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    • I think Castle, Ryan, and Esposito are funny! Maybe an interim captain because Beckett’s pregnant and on bed rest! Let’s talk about Esposito and that Spanish IT girl? Is she married? How come they haven’t gone there? Esposito and Hayley? Esposito and the possible temp cap? Plus, they can fake sweet, funny phone conversations with Beckett!

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  10. SaveCaskett,let them have their happy ending and also for the fans who have supported this show for eight seasons. It is a real betrayal by the network for the fans!!!

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  12. I disagree I look forward to watching castle on Monday nights also but I will keep watching the show if there is a season 9, even though I am sadden by the leaving of Stana and Tamala I feel that we have to give the show a chance and see what will happen if there is a season nine. I am a true fan and won,t give up on the show, I am sure the the rest of the cast members will make it just as good as it always was, please abc keep the show going for a season 9 and I will watch.

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    • Thanks for the comment. I think if you want to watch the show you should. Many of the cast members are entertaining. I expect that the show will continue without Stana, but it will not be the same show and that is why I can’t watch it.

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      • If done the right way, it can be good! After all, it’s a shortened season! Beckett’s absence can be explained in a few different ways! Pregnancy and bed rest is my favorite! She was absent from some episodes this season and I actually liked one of them!

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      • These are good ideas, but I don’t think that is the plan. For Rick to move on with Hayley (which is the plan, she is the new female lead) Kate has to die. Difficult to imagine for the audience, but not for ABC.

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  13. With all due respect to the other actors and actresses whom I wish nothing but well. I feel that I have not spent the last eight years eagerly await in each episode, pre-ordering and buying the DVDs and Nikki heat books only to have a series that I love be destroyed by uncaring money hungry executives .
    Becketts story seen through the eyes of castle the subsequent romantic courtship between them provided me with an hour each week in which I could escape the stresses of my every day life .
    It was inevitable that the series would be ending fairly soon given the very disappointing season eight but I had hoped The fans would have been given a happy ending that we and the actors and characters deserve . I feel unable to watch a season nine if there is one without Beckett .

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    • No one ever said they were killing off Beckett! If that’s their plan, then this season should be the last! If not, then I’d like 13 more episodes! Doesn’t it occur to anyone that they might just focus on Castle at work and Beckett could be away on a job for a few months or she could be on bed rest!

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  15. I agree with all of the above, here in the U.K., we are at least 1 year behind you guys in the U.S. but Castle without Beckett is just not on. I will NOT be watching a Becketless Castle. Its all about money saving! The same happened with Forever after just 1 season, (or series as its called in U.K.)

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  16. Stana katic is a rare bread, an actress totally focused on delivering an outstanding performance and totally invested in an epic character. I can barely stand to watch now, knowing she will not be back. I do so out of respect and love for her. There is no way I will watch season 9. I hope there is not one. The heart and soul is gone from Castle. Thank you to Stana and Andrew Marlowe for the hours of quality entertainment.

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