New Delhi:
David Amann, the writer and showrunner of crime drama
Castle, credits the popularity of the show in India to its "emotional heart" and the mutli-generational family angle at the centre of the story.
Castle revolves around a celebrated mystery novelist, Rick Castle and NYPD detective Kate Beckett who solve various crimes together. The writer and detective played by Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic respectively, form a working as well as personal relationship. They got married in the beginning of the seventh season.
David, who became the showrunner from this season with creator Andrew Marlowe handing over to him the primary duties of the ABC show, said he was not surprised by its popularity in India.
"It is a family show. There is a multi-generational story of Castle and his mother and his wife. Culturally, it is something that is relatable in India and other places. The family unit is part of its appeal and also it has got an emotional heart. Other mystery shows tend to be a little too procedural, gory or cold," David told PTI in a telephonic interview from Los Angeles.
In the seventh season, which airs every Wednesday 10 pm on Star World Premiere HD in India, Castle and Beckett went through hell as they confronted formidable villains like Mike Tyson and Dr Nieman. But now that they are dead, David is not averse to introducing another enemy.
"We probably will. I think we very much liked Tyson's character and what he brought to the show but we wanted to wrap it in a way that was satisfying and move on to other ideas. Moving on, we expect that someone will appear on the horizon and be a significant nemesis to Castle and Beckett," he said.
Another plotline that fans have started talking about is introducing a baby in the mix now that Castle and Beckett are married.
David said that the possibility is being discussed but it is more of an "ongoing conversation".
While the dynamics of Castle's relationships evolve slowly, the writers have to come up with new cases, which he admits, is not easy.
"The future of the show looks great. I think we can go on for a number of more seasons. Just because Castle and Beckett are married, it does not stop being interesting. It is a new beginning. But yes, coming up with new stories is very challenging because we don't like to repeat ourselves. That's the challenge we deal with in every season."
When asked about the change in his role from a writer to showrunner, David said it evolved slowly. "It did not change overnight but rather evolved slowly to the point where we are now. The job is a combination of writing and re-writing and working with other writers in keeping the show moving forward," he said.
He, however, agrees that it is the golden period of television and the reactions are more instant thanks to the Internet.
"It is the golden age of television globally. Great stuff is coming out from every area of the world. Quality continues to improve. There is much more focus on episodes now because of the Internet. There is more feedback and you get a sense of how the work is being received and it helps us in improving. It is fascinating," he added.