So I don’t watch Castle at all but I know enough about it to comment.
So what the news is saying is that ABC is cutting Stana Katic’s role from the show in order to save money. She’s the female lead of the show, and a rather important part of the show – has been since the beginning.
What does it say about a network that a female lead like Stana Katic is let go to “save money?” Castle appeals to both the male and female demographic, and what this basically says is that female characters don’t matter, and neither do the loyal fans who have watched the show over the past 8(?) years.
There is absolutely a problem when, rather than pay a woman for a job she has done quite successfully for nearly a decade, they’d let her go. If they want to be making more money (in ad revenue, I’d assume) then they’re gonna want ratings. How do you get ratings for a show when you alienate a good portion of your fanbase by eliminating a character that many of the fans love? Granted, Stana Katic’s character is not the titular role, but seeing as she is married to the titular character, you’d think she’d be reasonably safe in her employment.
ABC, you fail at logic, and this is just another reason why execs just don’t fucking get it. And again, it proves that women are disposable commodities.
It’s important to note that they’re also cutting
Tamala Jones’s role, which adds to the ever growing list of WOC (and black women specifically) who have been taken off our TV screens this year. Tamala has been part of the core cast since the first season and she’s one of my favorite characters on the show. This also leaves an overwhelmingly male supporting cast for an already male led show.
The heart of the show has always been the dynamic between Castle and Beckett, if they “couldn’t afford” to bring back Stana Katic, they should have just ended the show. I don’t see it lasting more than half a season without her. And by the same token, without Lainey to balance out Ryan and Esposito’s antics the supporting cast becomes absurdly off keel. Let this show die. It’s had a good run, but let it die.
[Two gifs. The first is a black woman saying “I am disgusted.” The second gif is a white boy throwing a stack of paper in the air; the caption reads “FUCK THIS SHIT”.]
