The Crime Procedural That Redefined The Genre, Watch Without Netflix

Castle shares the same DNA as Remington Steele, starring Pierce Brosnan, and Moonlighting, which launched Bruce Willis’ career, as it features the charming, roguish Richard Castle partnered up with the straight-laced and by-the-book police detective Kate Beckett (played by Stana Katic).

The first few seasons are filled with “when will they become a couple,” as no one in the audience was fooled into thinking that this might be a “won’t they” situation. By focusing so strongly on the two leads, the series was a character-driven procedural compared to the endless parade of NCIS spin-offs that are all plot-driven.

For the first few seasons, and that’s a phrase I keep repeating for a reason, Castle was a run-away success. Growing from the initial mystery of a killer copying the murders from Richard Castle’s unfinished novel to hitting all the usual procedural kills, including a New York debutante’s death and supposed vampire murders (in an episode wittingly titled “Vampire Weekend”), to including a massive, globe-spanning conspiracy. The most innovative part of the series wasn’t on-screen but in bookstores.

Since Richard Castle is an author, ABC Studios executives had the brilliant idea to produce his fictional books for the real-life audience. Books-A-Millions, Borders, and Barnes&Noble stores across the country started selling Heat Wave, the first novel featuring Kate Beckett’s fictionalized detective, Nikki Heat, with a fictionalized version of Richard Castle called Jameson Rook. In a brilliant move that took advantage of the television show, the novels in real life were the ones that the character wrote, dramatizing episodes of the series.

Marvel comics got in on the action thanks to corporate synergy (ABC and Marvel are owned by Disney), releasing Derrick Storm (Castle’s first character, killed off in the pilot’s novel) graphic novels written by acclaimed comic writers Brian Michael Bendis and Kelly Sue DeConnick.

As for the show itself, Castle is a fantastic comfort-food viewing carried entirely by Nathan Fillion’s charisma and the fun way that Castle and Beckett bounce off one another. The first major conspiracy story involving Beckett’s mother is darker and has a higher body count than you’d think, given the breezy nature of the rest of the show, but it’s well done. Which is more than I can say about what happens starting halfway through Season 5.

The unfortunate story of Castle is that while it starts strong, behind-the-scenes drama destroyed the series; while the exact moment hasn’t been made clear, at one point, Castle and Beckett spend less time on-screen together and more with a supporting cast. This is fine at first, as the supporting parts are all filled with actors who knew the assignment and bring the right amount of snark and wit to their limited screen time each episode, but that’s not what the show was supposed to be about.

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic had a falling out, with Katic accusing Fillion of being a jerk, and the result is a show that falls apart long before the series finale. If you do start binging, and again, the first seasons are well worth it for anyone who wants a light-hearted procedural with fun banter, stop watching after the Season 6 finale.

REVIEW SCORE

Crime procedurals have stood the test of time because there’s something comforting with tuning in each week and knowing what you’ll get, making binge-watching them especially rewarding. Castle carried on the tradition and helped bring about even more “cop/not a cop” character-driven shows in its wake, ranging from Lucifer to Blind Spot, that gave the genre another decade of life. As a fan of Firefly, I always consider more of Nathan Fillion to be a great thing, and yes, when Castle goes to a sci-fi convention, he does the thing.

Castle can be streamed on Hulu.