ABC announces 'Castle' for 2008-09

Comedy crime drama Castle has been confirmed as one of ABC's five new series pick-ups for 2008-09.

Starring Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic and Molly Quinn, Castle centres around a bored mystery novelist who teams up with the NYPD to help catch a copycat murderer who is staging scenes from his books. Experiencing a new lease of life working on the case, Fillion's Nick Castle is kept grounded by his diva mother, teenage daughter and ex-wife.

The network's two other drama pick-ups are Cupid, about a man who could be the Roman god of love, and The Unusuals, a comedic take on the police procedural.

ABC's newly announced comedy series are the office-based Better Off Ted and Single With Parents, which stars Alyssa Milano as a woman who is frustrated by her divorced parents' increasing reliance on her.

ABC's Stephen McPherson said: "It was worth taking the time to go through the pilot process to really do it right. We're excited about these series and feel they're perfect additions to our dominant core slate of shows.

"These are the initial pick-ups, but there are a number of other pilots we feel will also get the go-ahead in some form moving forward."

Previously announced ABC series are Life On Mars, The Goode Family, Scrubs (making the switch from NBC), Opportunity Knocks and Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project.