Warning: This article contains spoilers forMurder in a Small Townseason 1, episode 3.Stana Katic, known for playing the female lead in ABC’sCastle,returned to murder procedurals inMurder in a Small Town,but it totally flipped her Kate Beckett character. Katic played Kate Beckett opposite Nathan Fillion’s Richard Castle on the popular procedural series for eight years, forging a household name for herself as an NYPD detective. Despite being one of thebest dramedy seriesof its time,Castleended after eight seasons, with Nathan Fillion going on to play John Nolan in ABC’sThe Rookieand Katic joining another crime series.
Katic’s stint as Kate Beckett halted when ABC unceremoniously ended the crime drama in 2016. The network canceled the show because of declining ratings. However, ABC had already fired Katic from the show, and the series announced that it would continue without her, killing Katic’s Kate character and making Richard Castle, who married Kate inCastleseason 7, a widower. Now,seven years afterCastleended, Katic returns to the genre on network TV in Fox’s new procedural thriller. Her character will officially subvert expectations of the actor following herCastlestint.
Stana Katic Returns To The Police Procedural Genre With Murder In A Small Town
Katic Makes Her Police Procedural Return After Castle’s 2016 End
In October 2024,Katic returned to the genre in Fox’s psychological crime dramaMurder in a Small Town, which starsTrench 11’s Rossif Sutherland andReacher’s Kristin Kreuk. The series follows Sutherland’s Chief of Police, Karl Alberg, who moves to a small coastal town to escape big-city police work, but soon discovers that the small town has plenty of mysteries to solve. In the series' first three episodes,Murder in a Small Townintroduced a murder case along with a small handful of suspects and followed Alberg as he dug deeper into the people involved and their motivations.
2009-2016
2017-2020
Zoe Strachan
2024
Murder in a Small Townis the actor’s second time returning to the police procedural genre sinceStana Katic exitedCastle,but it marks her return to network TV.Katic starred inAbsentia,an Amazon series similarly positioned in the thrill and drama genres afterCastleended in 2016. In it, Katic plays an FBI agent who reappears after being declared dead and is the prime suspect in a string of murders.Absentiawas a mix of Katic’sCastleandMurder in a Small Townroles, wherein she is a murder suspect but someone with previous ties to an agency.
How Murder In A Small Town’s Zoe Strachan Is Different From Castle’s Kate Beckett
Katic’s Murder In A Small Town Character Is A Genuine Terror
Katic’sMurder in a Small Townrole is the opposite of hers as Kate inCastle.In Sutherland’s series,Alberg suspects Katic’s Zoe Strachan character of murder. Strachan is a wealthy resident of Gibson who mostly keeps to herself but gets wrapped up in Alberg’s investigation after her brother is murdered. If viewers tuned into Katic’s performance expecting to see something similar to herCastlecharacter, they would be utterly surprised. Katic’sMurder in a Small Towncharacter wasreallycreepy, putting her on the other side of the investigation as the murderer rather than the investigator.
Murder in a Small Townpromised a different kind of police show, and Stana Katic’s eerie murderer character delivered on that promise.
InMurder in a Small Townseason 1, episode 3, “A Chill Rain,” Katic’s character grows more ominous as Alberg investigates. He uncovers that Zoe Strachan has left a trail of mysterious deaths behind her, with various odd police reports suggesting her kind, cunning demeanor was deceitful. Not a moment too soon, Alberg uncovers that Zoe Strachan burned her former relative alive and catches her just before she’s able to replicate the crime.Murder in a Small Townpromises a different kind of police show, and Stana Katic’s eerie murderer character delivers on that promise.
Murder in a Small Town
Cast
Detective Karl Alberg moves to a peaceful coastal town to recover from the emotional toll of big-city police work. However, a series of mysterious murders shatters the town’s tranquility. Alberg must rely on his investigative skills to uncover secrets buried in this seemingly idyllic community, as danger continues to surface.
