'Castle' Season 8 Spoilers: Beckett's Promotion Challenges Ryan And Esposito; Kate All Smiles As She Celebrates

When "Castle" season 8 returns, Beckett has been promoted as the new captain and the spoilers revealed that her promotion could prove to be a challenge to Ryan and Esposito.

In the promo clip, Rick can be seen giving Beckett a cake to celebrate her promotion as captain of the department.

He says, "How are you feeling?"

Beckett replies, "Exhilirated, and frightened and everything in between."

The promo says, "Castle is back! Kate's got a new job, Rick's got a new partner, and everything you think you knowis about to change."

The promo clip also shows the latest addition to "Castle" family in the person of investigator Hayley Shipton, played by Toks Olagundoye.

Producer Alexi Hawley told Entertainment Weekly that the actress will play a "dynamic, fun character."

"It's a voice that the show doesn't have," he said. "What's great about her is Castle [Nathan Fillion] has been investigating cases police-adjacent, so it's always about doing things the way police would."

"She doesn't do things that way, so that fun dynamic of, 'No, we break in rather than get a warrant,' is kind of fun."

Meanwhile, showrunner Terence Paul Winter teased "Castle" season 8 spoilers to TVGuide as he said that Ryan and Esposito will look at Beckett's promotion as a challenge for them to do even better.

Talking about Ryan (Seamus Deaver), the showrunner said, "When he sees Beckett rising up in the ranks, the boys realize it's time for them to start looking at their futures, which is going to create some tension and conflict between them."

While on the subject of Ryan, Winter added that there's going to be "some exciting news" for the family as the couple is expecting another child. "Ultimately, that's going to make Ryan even more paranoid and more excited about trying to make more money," he said.

Watch out for more "Castle" season 8 spoilers ahead of the airing date on Sept. 21 on ABC.