What makes TV dramas like The Ultimatum and Red Thread watchable? Andrew Marlowe would be the best person to ask.

He has after all written screenplays for movies like Air Force One, Hollow Man and End Of Days, and he’s also the creator and executive producer of the television series Castle, now in its third season.

And Marlowe is enjoying his work on the new season of the tongue-in-cheek detective show that follows the adventures of novelist Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, and detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), as they partner up to solve murder mystery crimes.

“As our loyal viewers know, Richard Castle has published several books that are based upon his adventures with Detective Beckett, and one of them is being turned into a movie in Hollywood,” Marlowe explained about the third season’s proceedings.

“The actress who’s playing the character based on Detective Beckett comes to New York to shadow her. And so she’s following Beckett around; Castle’s following Beckett around; and the actress starts to look and act like Beckett. And of course Castle starts to fall for her a little bit, and Beckett gets a little creeped out that this woman is kind of taking over her life. So that’s a lot of fun.”

More than a little of the show’s brand of humour comes from Marlowe himself. “My wife likes to say that it’s hard not to fall in love with Richard Castle, because it’s my words coming out of Nathan Fillion’s mouth. He’s very, very cute,” he said with a smile. “Since I’m a writer, and Castle’s a writer, I think we have very specific points of view on a lot of things. And it’s been a lot of fun to give that a voice.”

The chemistry between the stars is a big contributor to the show’s popularity, too. “Nathan brings a lot of natural charm, and he’s the kind of person, like Castle, who can say something that’s just a little bit offensive, but get away with it. One of the great things about Stana as an actress is you get a sense that there’s a lot of depth there that she’s not showing. So … for Castle, (it) is really a process of discovering who this person is.”

What does it take to make a successful show? To answer this, Marlowe referenced two Singapore-produced shows. Red Thread, for example, which starred Adrian Pang as the blind Alex Sung who’s intent on finding out who killed his wife, had a bounty of “rich material” there.

“But my question is, what’s going to keep viewers coming back week after week after week on Alex’s journey with this one particular family? If the character’s interesting and compelling, I’d figure out a way to move him beyond the family to discover that his thoughts about Kong Wah being responsible for killing his wife may be wrong, and he has to search elsewhere. So he’s following the clues, but along the way he gets involved in other things, so it’s not just limited to that family and that soap opera.”

The Zoe Tay vehicle The Ultimatum relies on its execution. “If it’s written well and acted well, you could have an audience really enjoy this kind of melodrama,” said Marlowe. “Desperate Housewives is over the top, but it does very well. There’s always an audience for over-the-top material as long as you don’t go too far out there. It depends on how it’s handled and how it’s crafted.

“With a TV audience, you’re asking them to invite these people into your house, day after day, week after week,” he continued. “(So the audience has) to like the characters or be fascinated by them. Ultimately, at the end of the day, most basic stories have been around for thousands of years. And you’ve seen versions of this story a number of times. The thing that keeps us really invested is who these people really are, and whether we get caught up in their lives.”

A good starting point, explained Marlowe, should be the story.

“Where we start is to try and find a compelling story and a compelling crime. (Castle) works from conjecture. Beckett works from the evidence. She’s like, ‘That’s a great story, but the evidence says this’. He’s like, ‘Yeah, but that’s boring. Here’s a better story’. So they do meet in the middle. We want Beckett to be able to solve the things that she’s good at solving, and we want Castle to solve the things that he’s good at solving. Because we want the audience to feel that these two people are great together.”

Source: here

Thanks to my friend Meghan and her friend, I have been able to get high quality behind the scenes photos from two upcoming Castle episodes. Thanks again to both of them!

Home > Behind The Scenes > Season Three

I’ve added high resolution episode stills for the long anticipated episode of Castle: 3×13 Knockdown. I honestly cannot wait for this episode to air. It’s going to be intense and so good. I can just feel it!

Home > Episode Stills > Season Three > 03.13 Knockdown

Castle beat The Vampire Diaries in the last round, making it all the way to the finals. We’re up against Supernatural now and so far they’re in the lead. Vote for Castle and make it named the best TV show of the year! It deserves it because it is the best show with the best cast!

Click here to vote. You can vote as many times as you’d like, but you must refresh the page each time. Support our show and it’s cast by voting now! Vote your hearts out, Castle fans! I know you’re the best!

Seasons greetings, Castle fans! I just wanted to take the time to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year, as well as a happy holiday to any other holidays you all might celebrate. You guys are all the best. Thank you for your continuous support to the site. As I’ve said before, it’s not just my site. It’s all of your’s too. So happy holidays to all of you! And if you are traveling, I wish you a safe trip and all the best. Castle will return in the new year on January 3rd, 2011 on it’s normal night and time. Please continue to visit the site!

All the best,
Jessica

CASTLE – “Knockdown” – Old wounds are reopened when the retired lead detective on Beckett’s mother’s homicide case contacts her with new information, but then is gunned down right in front of Beckett before he can tell her what he knows. The investigation into his death leads back to a decades-old conspiracy that may hold the answer to who was behind Beckett’s mother murder and why. With the stakes and emotions running high, Castle and Beckett take their partnership to the next level, on “Castle,” MONDAY, JANUARY 24

You can view episode stills here for this episode. They are only thumbnails. I will post high quality images in the gallery, as soon as they are available for me to.

Castle has made it to the final four of this contest, beating out Modern Family last round! This time it is up against The Vampire Diaries, which is a very popular show. Please vote for Castle as many times as you are able to! Let’s make it named the best TV show of this year because we already know that it is truly the best!

Click here to vote. You can vote as many times as you’d like, you just need to refresh the page each time.

Finally got my hands on episode stills for the January 10th episode, Poof! You’re Dead. Enjoy!

Home > Episode Stills > Season Three > 03.12 Poof! You’re Dead

This article does contain spoilers. Do not read any further, if you wish to remain spoiler free.

A sexy Castle storyline I first broke news of this past summer is finally happening. With Castle and Beckett’s unconsummated tease expected to stretch out for several seasons, the ABC series is giving fans the next best thing. In the January 10 episode, it will be revealed that Detective Javier Esposito (Jon Huertas) and medical examiner Lanie Parish (Tamala Jones) have been secretly getting in on for some time!

“We find out it’s been going on for about eight weeks, so it’s still a new thing,” reveals Jon, who had been campaigning hard for the storyline. “Of course we try to hide it from the gang to keep things professional, but it’s hard for us to control ourselves.”

Sounds like it. The Castle set designers erected a whole new house set for Lanie where the couple will do the deed. And to prepare for his bedroom scenes, Jon has been amping up his cardio workouts. “People are going to be seeing a lot more of me than they’ve seen — and I’m not just talking about screen time,” he says. “For some reason they want us to be naked a lot. With Castle and Beckett not being able to get together, they’re relying on our characters to play out the sexual element.”

You would think after three seasons of working together, it might be a tad awkward for the co-stars to get naked in front of each other. Not so much.  ”I was looking forward to it,” Jon admits with a playful wink.

While future episodes may out the down-low couple to their co-workers, for now only the audience is in on the romance. But that hasn’t kept Jon and Tamala’s curious co-stars, Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Stana Katic (Beckett) from peeking in on the pair during filming. “Nathan and Stana are like kids,” Jon says. “They’re supposed to leave the set when Tamala and I start going at it, but I look over my shoulder and there they are watching and giggling like five-year-olds.”

And one last nugget: while Jon says not to expect an Esposito/Lanie engagement anytime soon, Det. Ryan (Seamus Dever) does pop the question to girlfriend Jenny when the series returns January 3. Says Jon, “My character’s a little harder to tame.”

Source: here

Watch the first 11 minutes of the next episode of Castle, 3×12: Nikki Heat. Warning: Obviously, this does contain spoilers. Do not watch if you wish to remain spoiler free.