TNT has acquired Disney-ABC's Castle, starring Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic, to begin airing on the basic cable network next summer. TNT acquired both the rights to air the show on its main channel as well as online through Time Warner's "TV Everywhere" rollout.
"With the addition of Castle, TNT continues to build a collection of hit shows that will perfectly complement our high-profile original series," said Michael Wright, EVP, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in a statement.
TNT acquired Castle for $1.5 million an episode, according to sources, less than the network paid for its last off-network acquisition, CBS Television Distribution's Hawaii Five-0, which sold for approximately $2.5 million an episode. Hawaii Five-0, for which TNT also acquired "TV Everywhere" rights, begins airing on TNT in 2014. TNT just premiered Warner Bros.' The Mentalist, for which it paid approximately $2.2 million an episode in late 2009.
Disney-ABC also will sell Castle into weekend broadcast syndication in all-barter deals, which should net it significantly more cash.
Castle's season finale on May 16 won its Monday 10 p.m. time period by a long shot, averaging 13.3 million viewers and a 3.3 among adults 18-49. Hawaii Five-0, whose season finale also aired at that time, averaged 9.8 million viewers and a 2.5 among adults 18-49.
Castle stars Fillion as a famous mystery novelist who finds himself solving crimes with the NYPD after initially helping Detective Kate Becket (Katic) solve a murder based on one of his books. The show is entering its fourth season on ABC, and is produced by ABC Studios. Andrew Marlowe is the show's creator and executive producer, along with executive producers Rob Bowman, David Amann, Laurie Zaks and Armyan Bernstein.
