The fourth season of American crime-comedy-drama television series Castle was ordered on January 10, 2011, by ABC. The season aired from September 19, 2011, to May 7, 2012. The fourth season initially contained 22 episodes, but on December 8, 2011, ABC ordered an additional episode, bringing the total episode count to 23 episodes. Penny Johnson Jerald joined the cast as the new captain, Victoria "Iron" Gates for the fourth season.
Overview
Richard Castle (Fillion) is a famous mystery novelist who has killed off the main character in his popular book series and has writer's block. He is brought in by the NYPD for questioning regarding a copy-cat murder based on one of his novels. He is intrigued by this new window into crime and murder, and uses his connection with the mayor to charm his way into shadowing Detective Kate Beckett (Katic). Castle decides to use Beckett as his muse for Nikki Heat, the main character of his next book series. Beckett, an avid reader of Castle's books, initially disapproves of having Castle shadow her work, but later warms up and recognizes Castle as a useful resource in her team's investigations.
Cast
Main cast
Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle
Stana Katic as Dt. Kate Beckett
Jon Huertas as Dt. Javier Esposito
Seamus Dever as Dt. Kevin Ryan
Tamala Jones as Dr. Lanie Parish
Molly C. Quinn as Alexis Castle
Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers
Penny Johnson Jerald as Captain Victoria Gates
Recurring cast
Victor Webster as Josh Davidson
Scott Paulin as Jim Beckett
Michael Dorn as Dr. Carter Burke
Juliana Dever as Jenny Duffy-O'Malley
Guest cast
Geoff Pierson as Mr. Smith
Juliana Dever as Jenny
Derek Webster as Mayor Robert Weldon
Jennifer Beals as Sophia Conrad
Josh Stamberg as Martin Danberg
David Chisum as Thomas Gage
Lorin McCraley as West Side Wally
Meghan Markle as Charlotte Boyd
Adam Baldwin as Dt. Ethan Slaughter
Episodes
Reception
Critical reception
The fourth season of Castle received positive reviews from critics, many of whom was pleased that the show finally united Fillion and Katic's characters Castle and Beckett after having four seasons of on-again-off-again relationship. Sandra Gonzalez from Entertainment Weekly was pleased in the way the relationship happened.