Another Castle shocker. ABC has canceled the veteran crime drama procedural after eight seasons. The May 16 Season 8 finale will now be a series finale.

The cancellation comes after ABC sibling ABC Studios went through the trouble of making new deals with star Nathan Fillion as well as co-stars Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas and a couple of others for Season 9.

The show dropped a bombshell last month when co-lead Stana Katic was told she would not be coming back, along with fellow original cast member Tamala Jones.

The move drew big backlash from fans. Still, signs had been pointing to a renewal, possibly for a shortened, 13-episode ninth season at a reduced license fee. There was a red flag last Friday when ABC did not pick up the show by the deadline it had to make a decision.

Castle already had a road map for Season 9, drawn by Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter, who joined as showrunners at the beginning of Season 8 and were expected to come back for Season 9.

Now, the show will remain about Castle and Beckett till the end, with no Castle 2.0 where Castle flies solo. And the showrunners will have to use the alternative ending they shot just in case the show doesn’t continue.