CASTLE is taking a trip to the ’70s with Monday’s episode, “That ’70s Show,” and the hour lets viewers see their favorite characters in a way we’ve never seen them before.

To get a little insight into the making of the episode, I spoke with CASTLE star Seamus Dever (Ryan) about getting into the era, what Ryan will be up to, what era he hopes the show tackles next, and more…

What was your reaction to seeing the script for “That ’70s Show”?
Seamus Dever: [Laughs] It was a lot of fun! I was like, oh my god, it’s going to be so much fun when we get to do this, when we really dress up fully like this. And I think the audience is going to be surprised by how different Ryan and Esposito look in this episode.

How long did the process take to do hair and makeup for ’70s-era Ryan?
SD: It took about an hour to do the whole thing. Usually I’m done with hair and makeup in 15 minutes…we had a great time. That hair and makeup department, they’re used to doing cool and crazy stuff like this. They really got a kick out of doing it. It was a nice departure from what we normally do on the show.

What was the wardrobe process like?
SD: Surprisingly quick. I think I tried on four or five pairs of really tight pants. [Laughs] And then when the right thing comes along, you’re like, yep, there you go. Everyone gets inspired by what the look is going to be. Surprisingly quick. My sessions go really quick, because I’m a fairly average-sized person, so I have a lot of options available to me.

And so we did it really quickly. And you’re wearing these great clothes from the ’70s that are from these vast costume rental warehouses, where they rent from for things like this. So they have a lot of ’70s costumes, things that were probably worn on TV shows in the ’70s. So it’s like going back in time when you slip in them, because you put that turtleneck on, and you hope it doesn’t stretch out too far, because this thing is 40 years old. [Laughs] And the character falls into place because of it.

What can you tease about the episode itself?
SD: We have a cold case that comes out, a Jimmy Hoffa-style cold case where we try and track down these really old leads, and track these really old mobsters down to talk to. And it turns out one of the informants from the past — we got the awesome actor, Jon Polito, who is one of the Coen brothers regulars, he came on and I got to work with him a lot — he comes on the show, and he plays this character that thinks he’s in the ’70s, dresses like he’s in the ’70s, talks to people like he’s in the ’70s. And there’s one moment where Castle realizes we have to transform the precinct, ’70s-style, so we get rid of all the new desks, all the computers, everything’s gone. All of a sudden we have a picture of Jimmy Carter on the wall and it’s like 1977, 1978. [Laughs] And everybody, even all the background folks, are dressed up like that.

And Esposito and Ryan take on this persona of these two really well-known badass detectives in the ’70s, Snooky and Ray, and we get to interview him, and take him to a ’70s club to jog his memory. And in the process we solve the murder, of course. But the fun part is seeing how we do it.

What was the best part of the experience of this episode for you?
SD: Transforming is always so much fun. I’m really a character actor at heart, so it’s one of my favorite things to do. Completely transforming: the walk being different, the energy being different, the way you talk being different, the way you carry yourself, that was so much fun. I get used to playing Ryan all these years, so it was nice to breakout and do something different. That was my favorite: just breaking out and doing something way different than what we usually do.

Now that the show has done a noir/’40s episode and a ’70s-themed episode, is there another era you hope they get to visit on the show?
SD: Wow. Yeah, I guess so. Those are my favorite time periods. Maybe a ’50s episode, where some things are happening in the good ol’ swinging New York ’50s. But we did the ’40s and that was pretty close. It’s hard to say. Maybe the ’20s? the ’20s would be fun. I don’t know how [they'd do it], but it would be a lot of fun to do. Prohibition style!

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CASTLE has been off the air for several weeks, but the show returns this Monday with “That ’70s Show,” an episode that finds the characters embracing the ’70s in an attempt to solve a decades-old case.

I had the chance to screen the fun hour, and while I don’t want to ruin what goes down, I do have a few teases about the episode…

- Every single series regular gets to have at least one ’70s-inspired costume. And, I have to say, they are pretty freaking awesome. (Stana Katic’s final era-inspired outfit of the episode? Absolutely stunning.)

- Castle and Beckett struggle to include Martha in the wedding planning…and, well, it goes about how you might imagine it would.

- Thankfully for C & B, Martha does have some useful skills that end up being essential in a crucial part of the investigation.

- CASTLE creator Andrew Marlowe already teased that the episode was different than the device the show used to show the noir scenes in “The Blue Butterfly,” and he was 100% spot-on. Castle, Beckett, and co. may be dressed in ’70s clothes, but they are wholly themselves in the present to try and solve a long-cold case. Unfortunately for them, the only potential key to solving it is a man who can really only function when he thinks it’s the ’70s.

- Unfortunately for Beckett, their guy isn’t really impressed by the idea of a female cop, so he mistakenly thinks Castle has way more power than he has — which leads to Castle being granted a title/nickname he enjoys a lot. (And, I’d wager some fans will get a kick out of it, too.)

- Ryan and Esposito get inspired by footage of two ’70s cops, but trying to pass themselves off as them is a little more difficult than they originally planned.

- If you’ve been missing the Esposito/Lanie romance, the duo share a cute moment.

CASTLE airs Mondays at 10 PM on ABC.

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