Ever since "Neighbors" star Toks Olagundoye was introduced as a season regular in "Castle" season 8, fans became concerned that her character Hayley Shipton would be disrupting the happy marriage of the lead stars Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett (Stana Katic).
But now, showrunners Alexi Hawley and Terence Paul Winter are telling fans not to worry because Hayley has no plans to being a third wheel in the beloved CasKett union.
"For us, her character was never meant to be competition," co-showrunner 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."
Co-showrunner Winter was quick to add that even though Hayley will not be competing with Beckett for Castle's affections, she will challenge the new head of the 12th precinct when it comes to work.
"She has a very different perspective on how she attacks cases different from Beckett, which is going to create some fun tension," he added. Hawley also included: "It's that fun dynamic of we break in rather than getting a warrant. There's definitely an energy about her that is a lot of fun."
Hayley has earlier been described as "a quick-witted, free-spirited former Scotland Yard police officer who works as a security specialist and isn't afraid to cross lines to get things done."
Another new character in the series is Vikram Singh, described to be a high-strung tech analyst who has a complicated past. He is played by "The Walking Dead" alum Sunkrish Bala, who played Dr. Caleb Subramanian in the zombie apocalypse show.
The showrunners are excited for fans to watch the new dynamic among the main characters, especially now that Beckett has been promoted and is the one in charge.
"What's exciting about that dynamic is that she's not going to be a traditional captain who is in the office," said Winter. "She's boots on the ground. She's still Beckett. She's going to be handling cases and she's going to be involved in the interrogation."
"What's exciting is that now she's a supervisor, which brings a new dynamic with her, Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever)," Winter added. "There's some fun conflict also with Castle (Nathan Fillion)."
And now that she does not have to work the field, the duo said that they will be delving deeper into Beckett's personal life.
