Stana Katic confirms her return for 'Castle' Season 8

LOS ANGELES, May 12 (UPI) -- Stana Katic will reprise her role of NYPD Detective Kate Beckett in Season 8 of Castle, ABC announced.

Her co-star Nathan Fillion, who plays mystery writer Richard Castle, had earlier confirmed he was returning for the 2015-16 season, however Katic's future with the series was unclear until the network stated Tuesday she will be back.

"I'm so pleased to announce that, after talking with our new show runners, Terence Paul Winter and Alexi Hawley (both of whom I've had the pleasure of working with on the show before) I'm excited about the future plans for Beckett and delighted to be returning for a Season 8 of Castle," Katic tweeted.

"In the Season 7 finale, Castle revealed some of his backstory for becoming a mystery writer, while Beckett was faced with a choice about her future -- will she choose to pursue a new challenge or stay where she is?" the network said in a news release, which also revealed the planned returns of longtime cast members Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Jon Huertas as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito, Seamus Dever as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan, Penny Johnson Jerald as NYPD Captain Victoria Gates, Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle and Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers.

x Stana pic.twitter.com/mojdfnKp6A

— Stana Katic (@Stana_Katic) May 12, 2015