Cute concept alert: Author Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) writes a series of best-selling murder mystery novels, but has grown tired of his tough-talking protagonist and has decided to kill him off. Seemingly every woman in America over the age of 25 knows and loves his work (if not his propensity for sleazy come-ons), but when a particularly rabid superfan starts recreating Castle’s fictional murders off the page, he is brought in to help solve the copycat crimes. Fortunately for this pop-lit Lothario, the officer working on the case happens to be sexy, no-nonsense detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic). After helping to solve the case, Castle decides that his new character is going to be, of course, a sexy, no-nonsense female detective. How convenient.
In the history of cop-drama odd couples, Castle and Beckett don’t quite measure up to Turner and Hooch. Hell, they don’t measure up to Tango and Cash, but fans of popular writers like James Patterson (who guest stars as Castle’s poker buddy) might enjoy some kind of meta satisfaction from a fictional show about real murders getting solved by a guy who writes about imaginary murders. Fillion isn’t half bad in the role, and after his failed series Firefly and Drive, the charmer does deserve a full-season pickup somewhere. But we all know how these predictable plotlines end, and we’re just glad Hooch isn’t around to see the sorry state of his buddy-cop legacy.
Castle premieres Mon 9 at 10pm on ABC.