I loved Castle up until the end of season 6. I haven't seen any of seasons 7 and 8, but from what I've read online (and I know the Castle fanbase can get really scrappy), it hasn't been pretty. And then they go and fire the friggin' female lead?
....What?! Exactly what is the point of this show without Castle AND Beckett? Aren't they married?
People are saying that Fillion and Katic haven't really been getting along for 2 years or so, and some weird stuff was put into Fillion's contract to stipulate that they work less together. And then today he comes out with a fairly lukewarm statement on her departure...hmm. With the drama over whether she would re-sign for season 8, along with the on-set tension, ABC probably just cut their losses. Some people are blaming Fillion. I'm not sure that he campaigned for her to go, but I can see him not being too broken up about it. Both of them, actually. Katic has probably been "over it" for awhile.
So in that case, just end the show. There is no show without Beckett. What the hell are they gonna do...kill her off in some emotional finale and have Rick going solo in season 9 as a PI with Alexis hunting for her killer? Just end it.