Beckett and Castle will be back on the case next season. Their TV show has been renewed for a fifth year by ABC.
Though the demo ratings for Castle have been on the decline this season, ABC has given the go-ahead for another round of episodes. Airing on Monday nights, Castle’s fourth season averaged a 2.3 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic with 10.71 million viewers.
Year-to-year, the demo is down by 15%. Interestingly, the total viewership is almost exactly the same. That would seem to indicate that the show has picked up older viewers (Dancing with the Stars has also been declining but skews older) but lost some younger ones — potentially to NBC’s Smash.
On our ABC Ratings Report Card, which measures the relative demo performance of shows on the network, Castle has a “C+” grade. It’s #12 on the demo list of scripted shows but ranks #2 in terms of total viewers.
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Though the ratings were enough to put the show “on the bubble,” it realistically wasn’t in any danger of being cancelled. ABC hasn’t had much luck finding successful new hour dramas this season.
More importantly, Castle presently has 81 episodes and that’s not really enough for a full syndication package. Last June, TNT picked up the cable rights to for Castle so ABC Studios has additional financial incentive to keep the show around.
ABC announces their 2012-13 schedule next week so we’ll know by then if Castle will stay on Monday nights or pop up on another evening instead. Either way, you can expect it to return next fall.
What do you think? Are you glad that Castle has been renewed? Are you still enjoying the show or do you think the quality has started to drop?
Image courtesy ABC.
Love this show and so glad ABC renewed it for season five. Castle is a great show that has a fabulous cast . The writing is excellent and it has the right amount of romance, drama and humor.
Yes, really glad they renewed this show it is so entertaining. And for everyone information I am an older lady over retirement age and really love this show. the writers can do so much with their characters. Hope they win some awards this fall.
i love castle its the one program my husband and i won;t miss .its fun and entertaining i hope it still comes on monday nights. thanks billie
Super excited about season 5. Now that Castle and Beckett are together there’s so many fun things to explore. This season was definitely more angst-filled than previous seasons, but the creator has said that season 5 will bring back the fun feel of seasons 1-2. Can’t wait!
Good show – glad it was renewed
Love the show and we needed something to happen between castle and beckett to hold the interest. They muck around too long thats why they lose viewers. Last episode keeps us interested
When does the fourth srason DVD come out?
I adore the show and am glad it is going on especially since Kate and Castle FINALLY FINALLY KISSED!!!! I was scared that was the end!
Finally, on the 3rd watch…. I didn’t cry from the moment Kate gave back her badge and quit, to the swings where she had explained on a nice spring day her wall to Castle, through Alexis’ V-speech on change, till he blocks her call and deletes her board, then upon opening the door and pulling back from a drenched Kate’s kiss, until she explains and takes him, then he takes her, too. Yes, I cried that through the first two times…. did better the 3rd time.
I’m glad Beckett finally realized that she can’t go on fighting the bad guys of the world.
Plus with a guy like Castle in the wings, OMG woman smell the roses!!!
Smell the Roses! Go to the Hamptons. Have a daring love and find a daring future together. The show can suceed a relationship. Work it Andrew!
Love the show!! Excellent plots and character development!! I think the only thing that may have hurt it this year was the inconsistency in the program schedule. There were at least 4 times that more than a week separated the episodes so that you could get frustrated waiting for the next episode. ABC should consider this when allowing other programs to bump Castle. Just a thought!
Yes, we don’t like waiting… what could be more important than Castle!
I LOVE CASTLE!!!! One of the few shows that is a MUST for me!!!! I must admit, if Castle and Beckett had not moved forward in their relationship, I would have been really disappointed. But, THEY DID!!!! I think it makes for good, new developments for next season! Plus, I do watch other crime type shows, and I really like the fact that the show has a lot of twists and turns, …..but I can follow it!!! Some shows just don’t make much sense. The writers for Castle do a gret job with the story lines! CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT… Read more »
I felt bad about this season because I have not been home to see many of the episodes but I’m glad that it got renewed. Hopefully I’ll be caught up through the Summer.
Um, it’s the 5th season! and these are some amazing news! can’t wait for Tuesday to see what time slot we got (fingers crossed for Mondays at 10!)
You mean a fifth season and the fourth season just finished.
Isn’t the next season of Castle the 5th season, not the 4th?
Yes, the information above is incorrect. The first season was Spring ’09 with I think around 10 episodes.
Chris » Doh! I knew that. Thanks. Shows what can happen when you don’t get enough sleep!