ABC recently renewed several of their TV shows for the 2016-17 season but the fate of Castle is still up in the air. The ratings are way down and lots of fans have been disappointed with the current season. Should this venerable series be renewed for a ninth season or, should the cast and crew call it quits?

On Castle, author Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) finally tied the knot but there doesn’t seem to be much wedded bliss in their future. The rest of this season’s cast includes Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas, Molly Quinn, Susan Sullivan, Tamala Jones, and Toks Olagundoye.

Currently in its eighth season, Castle is averaging a 1.07 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 6.07 million viewers. That’s down by about 30% in both categories when compared to season seven and a far cry from the early days when it was averaging a 2.6 in the demo and 10.23 million.

There has been a lot of speculation about one or both of the stars not wanting to continue on for a ninth season of Castle. There’s also been talk of possibly making a spin-off with some of the supporting characters. Either option seems in doubt now that Paul Lee is no longer heading the network. Lee was reportedly fired in part because he kept renewing older and low-rated shows.

It’s also hard to ignore the fact that many fans have expressed frustration with this season’s storyline.

Will the show be renewed? Considering the ratings and expense, the network could easily decide to end it. If the stars are willing, I suspect they’ll want to renew it for a final, shortened season.

The producers have said that they have included some closure in the season finale, just in case this truly is the end.

What do you think? Should ABC pull the plug and cancel Castle or, should it be renewed for a ninth season? Would you watch a spin-off with the supporting characters?