(Full interview link below)

“Castle† is one of the few shows that has actually gained viewers these past few weeks, so congratulations on that.

RB: We’ve got loyal followers, we’ve got good word of mouth, and [the increase in viewers] coming at the right time. So hopefully that’ll be what the network needs to pick us up [for next year].

Have you heard anything from the network about a season two?
RB: [We’ve heard] a lot of things, but not the official pickup. We’re interviewing writers and looking at directors and behaving as if [we’re going to be back] though. We’re just waiting to get the call.

[SNIP]

And the murder of her mother has obviously helped shaped Beckett into the woman she is today.
RB: When it comes to solving murders and people not getting away with it, I’ve always said [Beckett]’s the wrong person to have looking for you. Because she has these personal demons, she sets everything aside, including personal feelings, to get things done. The way she can use that ghost [that haunts her] is [remarkable]… tenacity, commitment, ferocity, hard work, whatever it takes. I think if she’s got you in her sights, you’re not getting away.

While we see how being alone has shaped Beckett, Castle’s family plays a big role in the shaping of his life. Was it always the intention to ground Castle with his family life, because it seems that while he is a total man-boy at work, he shows a bit more maturity around his family.
RB: [That was] absolutely intentional. His mom requires a lot of real estate, a lot of emotional and psychological real estate, so Castle has to surrender some of his own when he walks into a finite amount of space with her. He does love her, and it’s okay with him that she has her own notion of grandeur and past accolades. And if she wants to feel that way, that’s okay with him. But we’ve also seen in a few episodes, [she has] a very grounded, a very real side, a side of wisdom, a side of experience, she’s good-hearted. It’s not [just] the whimsical, hands flying around, gesticulating her point [all the time]. She’s both a hyperbole and good-reasoned. And that is definitely something we wanted, we wanted to surround Castle with women, and we wanted to surround Beckett with men. They both have their own world of gender issues. The relationship with [Castle and his] daughter, we wanted the daughter to be mature. Not to be written-down to, not to be portrayed as a distressed teenager, as I think they commonly are [in television]. She’s well balanced, self-assured, self-confident. And just as Castle defers some psychological real estate to the confines of his mom, I believe the daughter surrenders some of her psychological real estate to her father. She seems to be the grown-up between the two. She’s really not, but that is the basis for the dynamic of the relationship. [The relationship is] really just based on how much he loves and cares for her, but as we saw in episode four when [Alexis] had to figure out her own conditions of being grounded, because she’s determined to do it, those kind of moments give us insight into how to properly raise a daughter. [Castle]’s not always sure how to do it, but [Alexis]’ll help him. We want those [family moments] to be real. We want them to be grounded. Those are the moments that give us permission to have fun while we’re trying to solve a murder.

[SNIP]

Since we’re on the subject of the women in Castle’s life, we have to talk about Beckett as his muse. Does she think their time together is going to be over soon now that there is cover art for the Nikki Heat book?
RB: She’s very shortsighted if she thinks he’s writing [just] one book about her. There’s going to be a series of them! She said [in the last episode], if they’re doing the cover art, that means your book’s done, and that means you and I are almost done. Well, she’s in for a big surprise.

I can just imagine how thrilled she is going to be when she finds out he’s going to be sticking around.
RB: Oh yeah, of course. And the book will be a big hit because it’s based on the real life comings and goings of New York homicide detective Kate Beckett, who’s still active, and still filling Castle’s mind with stories and ideas, and wonderfully exploitive character flaws, which she will underline and highlight [when she sees the book]. But yeah, we’re starting a new series. There might be ten or fifteen new Nikki Heat books.

Which will give us plenty of time for Beckett and Castle to bond further. You know I have to ask about their relationship and where it’s going.
RB: We wanted it to be clear that there was an overt attraction by him to her and that in the good old-fashioned man-chases-woman, that rejection was part of her game. That she is, at her root, a serious homicide detective, and somebody loitering around real, hardworking people who are dealing with life-and-death, [the fact that] her office is being occupied by a writer, is getting in the way. And she was off-put by that. Rightly so. Problem is, he’s charming. He did help solve the first murder. He does have occasionally insightful things to say. As any homicide cop would agree, any good ideas to help solve the crime are welcome. The problem is, they come out of [Castle’s] mouth and he is a man-boy. But as long as the mayor is happy, and the commissioner’s happy, and the captain’s happy, he’s not going away. And so, we’ve put them in this box that neither of them… well, seemingly, we’ve removed the options for either one of them to get out of the situation. So they’re in it. I think Andrew’s description to me of that first interrogation [in the pilot] was, he thinks he’s on a first date, and she thinks she’s interrogating a suspect. And I think he always believes he’s on some sort of date with her, but I think she always feels like she’s saddled with him, but has decided to surrender the battle and join forces to solve crimes. In terms of them actually getting together [romantically], well, wouldn’t that ruin it?

They almost seem like they’re together already. His family has really taken to her, plus Beckett and Castle already fight like they’re a couple.
RB: Yeah, like in episode five when they pretend they’re married and they start bickering in front of the [apartment] tenant and she says, well if we’re married, I want a divorce. They’re always bickering like boyfriend-girlfriend, husband and wife. So, yes, we are behaving as so, but in her mind, it’s never going to happen. And that is again, part of the chase. Men like that kind of thing. Rejection is the key to have you keep coming back. I’m positive if something were to happen, [something] more than conversation, it can only happen under the guise of inebriation. To the point of blackout, to the point of neither one of them remembering, to the point where both of them are saying — certainly her — that it never happened, you can’t prove anything happened. And therefore the score is still 0-0. The truth is, we walk the line, every day, every scene. We’re trying to make it really fun for the audience. Castle adores her, no question about it. And I think that she does find him charming and useful and I think that’s how she characterizes him the most… charming and useful.

• Full interview at http://blog.zap2it.com

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