Richard Castle better watch out for new girl Hayley Shipton. The independent investigator comes out fighting when Castle helps clear a trashed apartment with Ryan and Esposito in the first "Castle" sneak peek for the eighth season premiere.
Toks Olagundoye will join the cast as Hayley and makes quite the first impression, especially on Castle (Nathan Fillion) who she punches in the face and knees in the groin. She quickly cooperates once Ryan (Seamus Dever) and Esposito (Jon Huertas) enter the room with their guns raised.
The eighth season kicks off with a call from a mysterious stranger that ignites an explosive chain of events, according to a synopsis from SpoilerTV. The story will first play out through Castle's perspective as he searches for Beckett (Stana Katic).
Despite their brutal introduction, Hayley and Castle will work well together when she joins the team led by the newly appointed Captain Kate Beckett. The novelist will take to the investigator's unconventional approach to crime solving, but their partnership could cause problems for Castle and Beckett, although not romantically.
"For us, her character was never meant to be competition," co-showrunner Alexi Hawley told Entertainment Weekly. "She's a strong, powerful, beautiful, independent woman and she adds a flavor of that into the show, but is not - in any way shape or form - competition for Beckett."
"Castle" will return on Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
