Former Castle star Nathan Fillion is returning to to ABC and to his half-hour comedy roots with a recurring role on the upcoming eighth season of Modern Family. He will play local weatherman Rainor Shine (as in rain or shine) who becomes involved with the Dunphy family. Modern Family co-creator/executive producer Steve Levitan revealed the casting at TCA where he attended a panel featuring ABC comedy showrunners. He also said that Martin Short is among the guest stars on tap for the upcoming season, which premieres Wednesday, September 21.

Fillion got his break on an ABC comedy series, Two Guys and a Girl, before segueing to drama with Firefly and then Castle, which ended its 8-season run on ABC in May.