Season 7 of "Castle" showed one of Kate Beckett's colleagues encouraging her to run for state senate. Now that actress Stana Katic is indeed on board to star in season 8, it appears that her character will heed this advice and actually run for political office, a decision that will have consequences for many of the other characters on the show. 

According to a report from the Venture Capital Post, Kate may take on the career change in order for her voice to be heard. But a new career isn't the only thing that the next season is going to delve deeper into. According to the report, season 8 will also take a much closer look at her relationship with Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion). The report indicates that their relationship may take centerstage when the series returns.

In an interview with TVLine, showrunner Alexi Hawley stated that season 8 will still focus primarily on Castle and Beckett's relationship prior to any of the other main plot arcs. Hawley also revealed that the show would still go on had Katic refuse to sign on for another season. 

"I'm thrilled not to have to come up with a show that doesn't include Stana," Hawley explained. "That's a high-wire act. There's always a Plan B but it would've been a fundamentally different show and that would've been quite a mountain to climb." 

Luckily enough, Katic did sign on for another season. Lots of fans were afraid that she wouldn't. 

"If the character is complete, if there is nowhere else to go creatively, then I think it's better to stop when you're on top," the actress told TVLine in an earlier interview.

She also explained that once the show is no longer treating the character right for the sake of profit, that would be the time to explore other options. 

No official premiere date has yet been given but "Castle" season 8 is already expected to hit production very soon with a premiere scheduled within the next few months.