'Castle' Season 8 Renewal Focuses On Rick And Kate's Growing Family? Fans To Expect More 'Great Stories'

"Castle" has been renewed for season 8 and while it's still early for spoilers, the new showrunner revealed that it will focus more on Rick and Beckett's family as he promised more "great stories" for this new season.

Speaking to TVLine, Alexi Hawley said that Rick and Beckett's relationship "is very much at the center of the show" and that's why he's thrilled that Stana Katic signed on for another year.

"I'm thrilled not to have to come up with a show that doesn't include Stana. That's a high-wire act," he said.

What if Stana Katic did not agree to be part of the "Castle" season 8 renewal?

"There's always a Plan B, but it would've been a fundamentally different show, and that would've been quite a mountain to climb," Hawley said.

As for what fans can expect this season, he said, "It's very, very early days. At this point, we haven't even sat down and talked about it yet."

"Fundamentally, Beckett and Castle's relationship has room to have movement in it. So for me - and I can't speak for Terence - we're just excited to go in there and see what the future holds," he added.

Ultimately, "ABC just really wants to tell good stories and I think there's still a lot of great stories to be told," the showrunner added.

Stana Katic released a statement about two weeks ago that she signed on for "Castle" season 8 renewal.

The actress who plays Beckett wrote, "I am pleased to announce that, after talking with out new show runners, Terrence Paul and Alexi Hawley (both of whom I've had the pleasure of working with on the show before), I'm excited about the future plans for Beckett and delighted for a Season 8 with Castle."

TVLine reported that "Stana Katic's new one-year Castle deal has her appearing in all of Season 8's 22 or 23 episodes."