"Castle" season 8 aired episode 8, titled "Mr & Mrs Castle", on 23 November, before it went on a midseason break. While many fans thought that it would return this Monday, on 4 January, 2016, ABC has officially announced that the season will return with episode 9, titled "Tone Death", only on 1 February, 2016.

The midseason finale showed the much-awaited Kate-Rick reunion, after they worked together to solve a case on the cruise. And as we wait for "Castle" season 8 to return with its second half, there already have been various speculations regarding what the midseason premiere holds for its fans.

While it has been confirmed that Rick-Kate duo will be seen solving a murder case in the world of competitive acapella, fans will also get to see the mystery behind Rick's long disappearance and memory loss unravel in "Tone Death".

"We're going to go to Castle's missing time next when the season resumes. We haven't nailed the story down for it, but we do like the idea that something that Castle came across during his missing time is actually why his memory was wiped, and it wasn't necessarily about the reason we showed in Season 7. And it does have something to do with Beckett," showrunner Alexi Hawley said.

Hawley has already hinted that the Rick-Kate reunion will lend another interesting twist to the plot and that they will have to put up an act of separation in front of family and colleagues, when in reality they are still together.

"What we love is that now that we're twisting it so that they're in it together but the public face of them is separate, that allows the audience to be in on the joke with them — in the sense that they can fight in public, but the audience knows it's just an act," Hawley said.

In another interview, Hawley also admitted that they were contemplating on including Kate's pregnancy plot in the upcoming episodes, but changed their minds. "It's not off the table, but there's nothing planned for anytime soon," he said.

"Castle" Season 8 is on a mid-season break and will return with on 1 February, 2016. For more information on the upcoming episode and live streaming details, don't forget to check back here.