ABC has pulled the plug on the long-running crime drama series "Castle."

After eight seasons, the upcoming May 16 season finale will now also serve as the series finale. News of the cancellation comes after network execs recently announced they had brokered new deals with stars Nathan Fillion (Richard Castle), Seamus Dever (Kevin Ryan) and Jon Huertas (Javier Esposito) for a ninth season.

Shockingly, those plans did not call for the return of co-lead Stana Katic, who stars as Det. Kate Beckett. Those plans drew an immediate backlash from Beckett's legion of fans.

Still, show execs appeared committed to at least another season, perhaps of the shortened, 13-episode variety, with show-runners Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter indicating they had already started to create a new, single life for Castle.

Beckett Thanks Fans

With news of the show's official cancellation permeating, Katic took to her Twitter page to thank all her fans for their years of loyalty.

Before long, Huertas and Molly C. Quinn, who played Castle's daughter also used their pages to thanks fans and shout out costars.

"Aight I've processed the end of living an 8 year dream & now I must thank those who have made that dream possible," tweeted Huertas. He later added, "Hollywood's not an easy town. As a cast & crew we were all very lucky 2 have the right chemistry, love & support 2 create a wonderful show that had success in a landscape of network TV where long runs are like unicorns. So thank you two the fans for giving me my own personal unicorn!"

Audience Remained Loyal

In its final season, "Castle" had continued to attract a loyal audience for ABC. With seven days of DVR, the drama has averaged a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49 and 10 million total viewers.