'Castle' season 8 renewed or cancelled? What is ABC show's future after season 7 finale?

Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic from ABC's CastleABC

Executive Producer David Amann admitted last March 23 that the future of "Castle" is still uncertain with no official announcements from ABC regarding a season 8 renewal, according to RenewCancelTV.com. The show is nearing its season 7 finale with no updates regarding the show's extension. 

The site also reveals that as of April 14, lead actors Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic are still undergoing contract negotiations with ABC. Until the two parties reach an agreement, the show will not see a season 8 renewal.

Avid TV viewers will recall that this was the same back-and-forth that occured with the cast of "The Big Bang Theory" which eventually led to a delay in the production of that show's eighth season. The lead cast of "The Big Bang Theory" finally settled for a $90 million three-year deal with $1 million salary per episode. It is likely that Fillion and Katic are looking for something similar in order to extend "Castle" into a new season.

With the future of the series in uneven grounds, it appears that the show runners are treating the season 7 finale as the series' end. Actor Wallace Langham, most popular for his role in "CSI," has been cast in the season 7 finale yet no details have been released regarding his character or what his story will be.

"Focus on compelling, high-stakes story-telling surrounding Castle and Beckett mythology," Amann stated. "We're hopeful that everything gets resolved. We have thought about a bunch of different scenarios, but our main obligation is just to our audience and delivering great shows. We're just building the best end of the season that we can."

Amann continues by promising the season will see a "satisfying end."

The finale episode was written by screen writer and series creator Andrew W. Marlowe with his wife Terri Edda Miller and will be directed by Paul Holahan. The episode will air on May 11, 2015.