For seven years, Stana Katic shared the screen with Nathan Fillion in the hit crime drama series, “Castle” (even with the issues behind the scenes). It wasn’t long before she was back, cracking a considerably darker case in a different show, taking center stage in a story that was less of a ‘who dunit’ and more of a ‘where you’ve been.’ “Absentia” was created by Gaia Violo and Matt Cirulnick and followed an FBI agent by the name of Emily Byrne. Your typical dedicated detective, Byrne was on the hunt for a serial killer, only to disappear and be declared dead in absentia. After six years presumed dead, Byrne is discovered hanging on for dear life in a derelict cabin, with no knowledge of where she’s been for all this time.
While the good news is that Byrne is alive, the bad news is that the world has moved on without her. Her former husband has since remarried, caring for their son with a new wife. Also, to make matters worse, Byrne somehow finds herself linked to other murders that have taken place during her disappearance, hinting that she may have been up to equally nefarious deeds as the killer she was hunting.
You can binge all of Absentia on Netflix
Unfortunately, while some “Castle” fans were hungry to see more of Katic in another show, “Absentia” didn’t get as long a run as the hit ABC series. Lasting only three seasons, “Absentia” came to a close in 2021 on Amazon Prime Video when it was cancelled. While it’s never great to see a show come to an end, Katic shared some heartfelt comments about how it ended on Instagram. According to the show’s star, it wasn’t a huge loss as the story of Emily Byrne had played out just as Violo and Cirulnick had intended. While it might’ve been cancelled, “Absentia” was set to end after a third season, anyway, and Katic was content with how it all played out.
“Three Seasons was the perfect amount of space for a beautiful, complicated, and wonderfully fulfilling journey. We took our protagonist on the path of victim to survivor to … empowered architect of her own future, which is a journey I hope we can all have after this confounding year.” It’s incredibly fitting, then, that just like the show’s discombobulated detective, “Absentia” has found a second life on Netflix with viewers chiming in on Katic on Instagram to show their support. See what all the fuss is about, and once you’re done, check out other addictive Netflix crime dramas to binge.
