Bones (TV series)

Bones
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Hart Hanson
Starring	Emily Deschanel David Boreanaz Michaela Conlin Eric Millegan T. J. Thyne Jonathan Adams Tamara Taylor John Francis Daley John Boyd
Theme music composer	The Crystal Method
Composers	Peter Himmelman Sean Callery
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	246 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Hart Hanson Barry Josephson Stephen Nathan Ian Toynton Carla Kettner Jonathan Collier Michael Peterson Randy Zisk
Producers	Kathy Reichs Emily Deschanel David Boreanaz Gene Hong
Running time	43 minutes
Production companies	Josephson Entertainment Far Field Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	September 13, 2005 (2005-09-13) – March 28, 2017 (2017-03-28)
Related
The Finder

Bones is an American crime procedural drama television series that aired on Fox in the United States from September 13, 2005, until March 28, 2017, for 246 episodes over twelve seasons. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and the personal lives of the characters. The rest of the main cast includes Michaela Conlin, T. J. Thyne, Eric Millegan, Jonathan Adams, Tamara Taylor, John Francis Daley, and John Boyd.

Created by Hart Hanson, the series is very loosely based on the life and writings of novelist and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, who also produces the show. Its title character, Temperance Brennan, is named after the protagonist of Reichs' crime novel series. Similarly, Dr. Brennan in the Bones universe writes successful mystery novels featuring a fictional forensic anthropologist named Kathy Reichs. Bones is a joint production by Josephson Entertainment, Far Field Productions and 20th Century Fox Television. The series is the longest-running one-hour drama series produced by 20th Century Fox Television.

On February 25, 2016, the series was renewed for a twelfth and final season, consisting of twelve episodes that premiered on January 3, 2017. The series finale aired on March 28, 2017.

Premise

The premise of the show is an alliance between forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. Brennan is the central character and team leader of the fictional Jeffersonian Institute Medico-Legal Lab, a federal institution that collaborates with the FBI, mirroring the real-life relationship between the FBI and the Smithsonian Institution. Set in Washington, D.C., the show revolves around solving Federal legal cases by examining the human remains of possible murder victims. Dr. Brennan and her team provide scientific expertise and Special Agent Seeley Booth provides FBI criminal investigation technique. In addition to the prospective murder cases featured in each episode, the series explores the backgrounds and relationships of its characters. An important ongoing dynamic between Brennan and Booth is their disagreement about science and faith. Brennan argues for science, evidence, and atheism. Booth argues for intuition, faith, and God. The series is also known for its dark comedic undertones, featuring human bodies in advanced state of decay, which serve to lighten the gravity of the show's intense subject matter.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Bones characters

Bones cast (from left): Tamara Taylor, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin, John Francis Daley

Main cast

• Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan: A brilliant forensic anthropologist working at the renowned Jeffersonian Institute located in Washington, D.C. She is an empiricist and author of crime fiction based on her experiences. She is an atheist and a staunch believer in facts and evidence, to the exclusion of feelings; consequently, she comes off as distant and detached. Nevertheless, she has shown empathy and compassion. Her dearth of social skills provides most of the show's lighthearted humor, primarily through her catchphrase, "I don't know what that means," whenever a pop culture reference is introduced into conversation. She is noted to have a high IQ and impressive reasoning skills. She and her FBI partner, Seeley Booth, begin a relationship near the end of season six and have a daughter they name Christine, in honor of her late mother, in season seven. They marry in season nine. A son, Hank, named for Booth's paternal grandfather is born in season 11. Brennan's birth name was Joy Keenan, which was changed after her parents decided to turn away from a life of crime.
• David Boreanaz as Seeley Booth: FBI Special Agent Booth seeks out Brennan's professional help in his investigations involving human remains that cannot be identified without Brennan's skills and those of her colleagues. The character is often used as an audience surrogate to provide a layman's translation of the scientific jargon-filled dialog, especially in the "squints" conversations or lab scenes. He gives Brennan her nickname, "Bones", which she starts out hating but comes to accept. He is a skilled investigator and interrogator who often relies on his "gut" and "cop instincts" (a quality unknown to Brennan). A decorated veteran of the United States Army Rangers, where he was a sniper, he has a son from a previous relationship, Parker, and a younger brother, Jared. He then has two children with Brennan: a daughter Christine and a son Hank, named after his grandfather. Raised in the Roman Catholic church, Booth is a devout believer in God and heaven, and finds himself frequently debating spiritual issues with Brennan, who regards all religion as primitive superstition unsupported by empirical evidence. He is purportedly a member of the well-known Booth Family and, as such, is related to John Wilkes Booth, which he does not like to discuss.
• Michaela Conlin as Angela Montenegro: A forensic artist at the Jeffersonian Institute and Brennan's best friend, Angela is Brennan's team specialist in forensic facial reconstruction—helping to identify the victims—and can generate holograms using her three-dimensional graphics program (The Angelator and later The Angelatron) to simulate various virtual scenarios of a crime to help determine cause of death. Angela and Dr. Brennan are best friends and rarely ever argue. She is open, friendly, and caring and constantly tries to draw Brennan out of the lab. Angela's father is played by Billy Gibbons, guitarist of ZZ Top, guest-starring as a fictional version of himself. In season five, she marries co-worker Dr. Jack Hodgins, with whom she has a very on and off relationship starting from season 2, and gives birth to their son, Michael Vincent, in season six. Her birth name is Pookie Noodlin, as revealed in the tenth season.
• T. J. Thyne as Dr. Jack Hodgins: An entomologist who is also an expert on spores and minerals but whose hobby is conspiracy theories. Hodgins regularly refers to himself as the lab's "bug and slime guy". During an investigation, he primarily deals with particulates and trace evidence and, at the crime scene, will provide Booth with approximate time of death. He is best friends with former co-worker Zack Addy and often tries to "educate" him on social norms. They often compete for the title of "King of the Lab", referring to whoever has more useful information in the investigations. His family is extremely wealthy and is major sponsor of the Jeffersonian, however, Hodgins wishes for this status to remain concealed from his colleagues. It eventually comes out during an investigation, but nobody allowed it to significantly impact their relationship with him. He later loses all his wealth due to the scheming of serial killer Christopher Pelant, but he manages to regain a considerable portion of it eventually. Initially through the sale of a hot sauce he creates in collaboration with intern Finn Abernathy, later through a still more successful creation: the non-breakable beaker, but invented a polymer floor mat. He marries Angela Montenegro in season five, following an on-again-off-again romance since the second season. She gives birth to their son, Michael Vincent, in season six. In season 11, Hodgins is left paralyzed from the waist down due to a bomb attack. At the conclusion of the series, Hodgins is promoted to temporary head of the Jeffersonian while Cam and Arastoo are on leave after their wedding.
• Eric Millegan as Dr. Zack Addy (seasons 1–3; guest star, seasons 4–5, 11–12): Introduced in season one as Dr. Brennan's graduate student and intern, in season two, he receives his doctorates in Forensic Anthropology and Applied Engineering and joins the staff of the Jeffersonian as a full-fledged professional. Like Brennan, his inability to pick up on Booth's, Hodgins', or Angela's pop culture jokes and references is a running gag and a source of humorously awkward moments in the lab, though he has shown he has other "normal" interests such as being a basketball fan and being a trained singer. A recurring element in the show involves Zack and Hodgins amicably but resolutely competing to be "King of the Lab." In "The Pain in the Heart", a trophy presented to him by Dr. Saroyan, recognizing Zack as "King of the Lab", is revealed. Zack is removed from his position on Brennan's team in the season three finale, "The Pain in the Heart", when he is revealed to be the apprentice of the serial killer Gormogon. He was residing in a psychiatric facility after pleading insanity to avoid a prison term, as Hodgins told him he "would not do well" in the general prison population, but in the season 11 finale he temporarily escapes. In the course of the twelfth season, he is cleared of his initial charge as the Gormogon's apprentice, although he is still required to serve some time in the asylum for his role in assisting the killer in the first place.
• Jonathan Adams as Dr. Daniel Goodman (season 1): An archaeologist turned administrator, who is the director of the Jeffersonian Institute. He is a loving husband and father to a pair of five-year-old twin girls. His way of working leads Hodgins to think of him as subjective, long-winded, and lacking the qualities of a pure scientist, although the antagonism between the two develops into a friendly rivalry as the season progresses. He has not made any appearances beyond season one. As of episode 23, "The Titan on the Tracks", he is said to be on sabbatical, and is never seen for the rest of the series.
• Tamara Taylor as Dr. Camille Saroyan (seasons 2–12): Succeeds Dr. Goodman as the head of the Forensic Division at Jeffersonian Institute and is a pathologist. She was a coroner in New York City. Dr. Saroyan had a romantic relationship with Booth prior to her joining the Jeffersonian and a brief relationship during the show. At first, she and Dr. Brennan have an uneasy working relationship, but she grows to be an integral member of the Jeffersonian team. Since season four, she has had a teenage adopted daughter, Michelle, because of her prior relationship with Michelle's murdered father. Later in the series, she becomes romantically involved with intern Arastoo Vaziri and they get married in series' penultimate episode "The Day in the Life", taking a sabbatical after the final case is concluded.
• John Francis Daley as Dr. Lance Sweets (seasons 3–10): An FBI psychologist assigned to Booth and Brennan after Booth arrests her father. He is frequently consulted to provide a profile on the suspects and victims involved and to give a more "humanized" perspective on the case. Due to his age, he is initially treated by Booth and the Jeffersonian team in a condescending manner, but eventually earns their respect, and their friendship. He is even accepted by Brennan, who notably dismisses psychology as a "soft science", and he is often sought out for advice by the team. In the season ten premiere, it is revealed that he and Daisy are expecting a baby. Soon after, he is fatally assaulted while serving a warrant. He dies with Booth and Brennan by his side.
• John Boyd as James Aubrey (seasons 10–12), a junior FBI agent working under Booth. Originally, Aubrey tries to win Booth's approval and trust, as Booth is reluctant due to Aubrey's inexperience, however he is eventually accepted by Booth and the rest of the team. Aubrey gets along with everyone and his love of food is often joked about. When he was a child, his father was an investment broker who cheated his clients and fled the country, abandoning Aubrey and his mother and leaving them with nothing. In season 11, it is found out that Aubrey's father is back in the country. In season 12, Aubrey is finally approached by his father who asks him for money and even reveals he has another wife and young son back in the country he had fled too, so as to persuade Aubrey in to giving him financial aid. However, Aubrey realises it is all a lie and eventually calls the Feds on his father.

Recurring cast

• Patricia Belcher as Caroline Julian (seasons 1–12): Caroline is the acerbic, witty, and often meddlesome Assistant U.S. Attorney (A.U.S.A.) from the U.S. Department of Justice. She is a friend of Booth and is always willing, if not eager, to help him and his partner in their cases.
• Ryan O'Neal as Max Brennan (seasons 2–12): Max Keenan, a.k.a. Max Brennan, is the father of Russ and Temperance Brennan. He and his wife were nonviolent bank robbers who became involved with gangs in the 1970s. They changed identities to lead an honest life with their children. Booth arrests Max on murder charges in season two, and he is tried in season three. The jury finds him not guilty on all counts and he is released, finally able to reconnect openly with his children. During season 12, he passes away while protecting his grandchildren.
• Loren Dean as Russ Brennan (seasons 1–3): Russ Brennan, a.k.a. Kyle Keenan, is the older brother of Temperance Brennan, a.k.a. Joy Keenan, and the son of Max Keenan. Russ has a troubled past and has spent some time in prison. He is involved with a woman named Amy Hollister and loves her two daughters, Emma and Hayley. After he and Temperance were abandoned by their parents, he also abandoned his sister, which led to long-held animosity from her. He first appears in the season one finale, where he patches things up with his sister and also re-unites with his father in season two. His last appearance is in season three, although he is mentioned in later seasons.
• Eugene Byrd as Dr. Clark Edison (seasons 3–12): He is the most serious and professional of the Jeffersonian interns, as well as the most organized. At the beginning of season eight, Cam hires Clark as a forensic anthropologist, to focus on archaeological work.
• Brendan Fehr as Jared Booth (seasons 4–5): Jared is Agent Seeley Booth's younger brother who is notoriously getting into trouble. However, in a continuing "Gravedigger" episode, Jared uses his military contacts to help save his brother's life. In seasons four and five, his appearances are troublesome to his older brother, especially when he announces his engagement to a former escort, whom he later divorces. In season eleven, the trend continues, but this time with a much more dire outcome as Jared is the newest victim for the Jeffersonian and it takes detached forensic work on Brennan's part to discover that his remains are not those of Seeley Booth.
• Michael Grant Terry as Wendell Bray (seasons 4–12): He is Dr. Brennan's top scholarship intern. He dates Angela briefly during season five. In season nine, he is diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. After seeking treatment, he appears to be in full remission and continues to work at the lab.
• Carla Gallo as Daisy Wick (seasons 4–12): Over-eager and somewhat manipulative, she is often annoying to other workers at the Jeffersonian. She has an on-again, off-again relationship with Lance Sweets. Sweets also happens to help Daisy and the others in the lab get along with each other. They later have a son named Seeley Lance Wick-Sweets, born some months after his father's death.
• Joel David Moore as Colin Fisher (seasons 4–12): Fisher suffers from depression and has a very dark sense of humor. He sometimes spends time at mental health facilities for treatment and therefore is the intern least often shown working in the lab.
• Pej Vahdat as Arastoo Vaziri (seasons 4–12): Arastoo starts out by having a fake Iranian accent, so he does not have to constantly explain his Islamic beliefs, but later drops it. He starts dating Cam in season eight; they become engaged in Season 11 and get married in Season 12.
• Ryan Cartwright as Vincent Nigel-Murray (seasons 4–6): Vincent is an Englishman and a graduate of the University of Leeds. He has a habit of reciting trivia while working. In season six, he is fatally shot in the chest by sniper Jacob Broadsky. However his death ends up being the catalyst in Booth and Brennan's relationship. Hodgins and Angela name their son's second middle name after him.
• Luke Kleintank as Finn Abernathy (seasons 7–9): Finn is the youngest intern to date and has a messy background which includes a stay at the Juvenile Detention Center. He is from North Carolina and has a thick southern accent, which leads Hodgins to call him "Opie". Finn, in turn, calls Hodgins, who is from a very wealthy family, "Thurston". He and Hodgins go into business together to originally recreate and later sell hot sauce that Abernathy's grandmother made before she died. He and Cam's daughter fall in love and begin dating, initially behind her mother's back. She later breaks up with him after moving away to college, realizing that the distance and new developments in their lives have caused them to drift apart.
• Brian Klugman as Dr. Oliver Wells (seasons 8–11): Oliver is a lab assistant who boasts of his 160 IQ and is considerably arrogant. He has multiple doctorates in various subjects and is the only intern who is a doctor. He struggles to get along with all of the lab members due to his arrogance. He and Dr. Brennan do not enjoy the best of working relationships, especially after he tells her that he aims to surpass her reputation. A polymath, he has a wide, if indolent, range of interests, from physics to psychology. He appears to bond with Hodgins later in the series, and with the rest of the team, to a certain extent.
• Laura Spencer as Jessica Warren (seasons 9–12): Jessica Warren grew up in an educational cooperative. She has five older brothers and she graduated from Michigan State University top of her class at the age of 19. She desires creativity in science, which contrasts with Brennan's insistence upon no speculation. She believes in trusting her gut. She is somewhat outspoken. In season 9, she first appears in the episode "The Drama in the Queen". At the end of the episode she has a one-night stand with Sweets. In season 11, she engages in a relationship with FBI agent James Aubrey, which ends in Season 12.
• Ignacio Serricchio as Dr. Rodolfo Fuentes (seasons 9–12): Rodolfo is a Cuban forensic anthropologist seeking asylum in the U.S. While he was already a qualified forensic anthropologist back in Cuba, he is working towards the same qualifications in America. He's also a shameless flirt, and has openly flirted with Angela and with Dr. Brennan, both of whom are married. Though Angela was flattered by his actions, both women turned down his advances. Despite his flirting habits, Hodgins takes him under his wing and becomes a good friend to him. He carries his father's prayer beads with him, despite not believing in God, because he believes that you need to experience a little bit of everything to make good life decisions.
• Sara Rue as Karen Delfs (seasons 11–12), a flaky behavioral analyst assigned to help Booth and Bones on a case. She asked Agent Aubrey out, but he was seeing Jessica Warren at the time. She transferred to Kansas after a few episodes, but she returned in the first episode of Season 12 after being sexually harassed at her other job by her married boss. She was accused of being the one out to kill Bones (she had the requisite psychological skills to be the one), but was cleared when they discovered the real killer. In the second to last episode, Aubrey got falling down drunk at Cam and Arastoo’s wedding reception. Karen had Jessica bring him to her apartment to recover since it was closer to the reception hall. In final episode, she learned that Aubrey and Jessica broke up. She bought him some fried chicken and they went off to eat comfort food and commiserate. The implication was that they were on the verge of starting a relationship.
• Billy Gibbons as Angela Montenegro's father

Production

Conception

The concept of Bones was developed during the latter part of the pitching season of 2004 when 20th Century Fox approached series creator Hart Hanson with an idea for a forensics show. Hanson was asked to meet with executive producer Barry Josephson, who had purchased the rights to produce a documentary on the forensic anthropologist and author Kathy Reichs. Although Hanson was reluctant about being involved in making a police procedural, he signed on and wrote the pilot episode after having an intensive meeting with Josephson about the show. As the show is based on the works of Reichs, the writers constantly involve her in the process of producing the episodes' story lines. Although the show's main character is also loosely based on Reichs, producers decided to name her Temperance Brennan, after the character in Reichs' novels; Reichs has stated that she views the show as somewhat of a prequel to her novels, with the TV show's Temperance Brennan as a younger version of the novels' Temperance Brennan.

In order to make Bones a unique crime drama in the midst of the multiple procedural dramas that already populated network television like the Law & Order and CSI franchises, Hanson decided to infuse the show with as much dark humor and character development as possible. Another element conceived for the show was the "Angelatron", a holographic projector that provides a way to replace the flashbacks often used by other procedural shows. In addition to their expositional purposes, the holographic images, which are created by visual effects, brought a unique visual style to the show that the producers were looking for.

Casting

David Boreanaz was the first actor to be cast in Bones. Series creator Hart Hanson described the actors who had auditioned for the role of Seeley Booth as "pretty boy waifs"; he immediately responded when the head of the studio, Dana Walden, suggested Boreanaz for the role. Boreanaz was offered the role but was unenthusiastic about getting involved after a difficult meeting with executive producers Barry Josephson and Hart Hanson, even though he thought the script was well written. However, after the producers contacted him again to convince him to accept the role, Boreanaz agreed to sign on and was cast as Seeley Booth.

Emily Deschanel was cast in the role of Temperance Brennan just before production began on the Bones pilot. After Deschanel finished the film Glory Road, the film's producer Jerry Bruckheimer recommended that she audition for Bones. Deschanel impressed Hart Hanson at her audition with her assertiveness. In a tense moment in the audition scene, David Boreanaz stepped closer to Deschanel; and Deschanel held her ground rather than retreating as most of the other actresses did. Hanson remarked that, in such a situation, "90% of actors would take a step back". Deschanel was subsequently cast in the role.

Beginning with season four, Zack Addy (Eric Millegan) was replaced by a succession of lab assistants: Wendell Bray (Michael Grant Terry), Colin Fisher (Joel Moore), Arastoo Vaziri (Pej Vahdat), Vincent Nigel-Murray (Ryan Cartwright), Clark Edison (Eugene Byrd) and Daisy Wick (Carla Gallo). One—Scott Starett (played by Michael Badalucco, formerly of The Practice)—is much older than the typical grad student. Marisa Coughlan guest-starred in a few mid-season episodes as FBI agent Payton Perotta, who was brought to the Jeffersonian as a temporary substitute for Booth when he was incapacitated.

Filming

Most of Bones is filmed in Los Angeles, California, despite the fact that the show is mainly set in Washington, D.C., where the fictional Jeffersonian Institute is located. The external shots are of the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. The interiors of the Jeffersonian Institute were specially built on a large sound stage at the 20th Century Fox lot in Century City, Los Angeles. The two-part season four premiere was filmed on location in London and Oxford, England.

Music

The soundtrack album titled Bones: Original Television Soundtrack, produced by Maria Alonte McCoy and Billy Gottlieb, was released in 2008. It contains 13 songs recorded by popular artists for the show.

Broadcast and release

Episodes

Main article: List of Bones episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	22		September 13, 2005 (2005-09-13)	May 17, 2006 (2006-05-17)
2	21		August 30, 2006 (2006-08-30)	May 16, 2007 (2007-05-16)
3	15		September 25, 2007 (2007-09-25)	May 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)
4	26		September 3, 2008 (2008-09-03)	May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)
5	22		September 17, 2009 (2009-09-17)	May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)
6	23		September 23, 2010 (2010-09-23)	May 19, 2011 (2011-05-19)
7	13		November 3, 2011 (2011-11-03)	May 14, 2012 (2012-05-14)
8	24		September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)	April 29, 2013 (2013-04-29)
9	24		September 16, 2013 (2013-09-16)	May 19, 2014 (2014-05-19)
10	22		September 25, 2014 (2014-09-25)	June 11, 2015 (2015-06-11)
11	22		October 1, 2015 (2015-10-01)	July 21, 2016 (2016-07-21)
12	12		January 3, 2017 (2017-01-03)	March 28, 2017 (2017-03-28)

Almost every episode title alliteratively alludes to how the victim is discovered in said episode, like "The Prisoner in the Pipe" and "The Recluse in the Recliner", or to the main plot device of the episode, like "The Blackout in the Blizzard" and "The Verdict in the Story".

American ratings

In 2016, a New York Times study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that Bones was "most popular in areas scattered around the West Coast, and tends to be less popular in places with large nonwhite populations".

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Bones.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season	Episodes	Timeslot (ET)	Original airing			Rank	Viewers (in millions)
			Season premiere	Season finale	TV season
1	22	Tuesday 8:00 pm (2005) Wednesday 8:00 pm (2006)	September 13, 2005	May 17, 2006	2005–06	#60	8.90
2	21	Wednesday 8:00 pm	August 30, 2006	May 16, 2007	2006–07	#50	9.40
3	15	Tuesday 8:00 pm (2007) Monday 8:00 pm (2008)	September 25, 2007	May 19, 2008	2007–08	#51	8.90
4	26	Wednesday 8:00 pm (2008) Thursday 8:00 pm (2009)	September 3, 2008	May 14, 2009	2008–09	#32	10.81
5	22	Thursday 8:00 pm	September 17, 2009	May 20, 2010	2009–10	#32	10.02
6	23	Thursday 8:00 pm (2010) Thursday 9:00 pm (2011)	September 23, 2010	May 19, 2011	2010–11	#29	11.57
7	13	Thursday 9:00 pm (2011) Monday 8:00 pm (2012)	November 3, 2011	May 14, 2012	2011–12	#48	9.26
8	24	Monday 8:00 pm	September 17, 2012	April 29, 2013	2012–13	#42	9.52
9	24	Monday 8:00 pm (September–November 2013; March—May 2014) Friday 8:00 pm (November 2013 – January 2014)	September 16, 2013	May 19, 2014	2013–14	#40	8.43
10	22	Thursday 8:00 pm	September 25, 2014	June 11, 2015	2014–15	#71	7.27
11	22		October 1, 2015	July 21, 2016	2015–16
12	12	Tuesday 9:00 pm	January 3, 2017	March 28, 2017	2016–17	#78	5.54

The series premiere of Bones attracted an average of 10.8 million viewers with 6.7% household share and 11% household rating. Bones finished first among the 18-to-49-year-old demographic and in total viewers in its Tuesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot. New York described the show as "the best drama of the new network season" and a "sexed-up variation of all the CSIs". Regarding the show's procedural structure, Entertainment Weekly notes that Bones has a "pretty standard Crossing Jordan/CSI-style framework" but holds up because of the chemistry between the two lead characters; "that old Sam-and-Diane, Maddie-and-David, Mulder-and-Scully opposites-attract stuff never feels standard when it's done right."

Following the broadcast of the series' third episode, Fox ordered a full season of Bones. The network renewed it for a second season after a strong performance in ratings in the timeslot following American Idol and on its own without the American Idol's lead-in audience. Overall, the first season of Bones ranked 60th in viewership among prime-time shows and 53rd among the 18 to 49 year old demographic, with a seasonal average of 8.9 million viewers.

The second-season premiere attracted 8.61 million viewers in its Wednesday 8:00 pm timeslot, finishing second among the 18 to 49 years old demographic and first in total viewership with 6.7% household rating and 11% household share. As a lead-in for American Idol, the second-season finale of Bones obtained 10.88 million viewers with 3.5% household rating and 11% household share. It tied first in viewership among the 18 to 49 years old demographic with The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular on CBS. In the 2006–07 television season, Bones improved its ranking to 50th place in viewership among prime-time shows with 9.4 million viewers and was ranked 51st among the 18 to 49 year old demographic. The show improved its ranking during its third season, placing 51st overall. However, its overall viewership was down from the previous season, averaging 8.9 million, the same as in the first season. Viewership began to steadily increase with its fourth season.

The ninth-season premiere attracted 7.8 million viewers and a 2.3 rating in the key 18–49 demographic during its Monday 8:00 pm timeslot. Its final Monday airing resulted in a 2.0 rating and 7.36 million viewers. Bones was subsequently moved to Fridays at 8:00 pm November 15, 2013, where ratings dropped 40 percent to a 1.2 and 5.85 million viewers in its initial airing in that timeslot.

Broadcast history

Bones premiered September 13, 2005, on the Fox network and was broadcast weekly in the Tuesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot before it moved to the Wednesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot in 2006. The first season finished May 17, 2006, with a total of 22 episodes.

The second season premiered on the Fox network August 30, 2006, and retained its Wednesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot. The second-season finale aired May 16, 2007, ending its second season with 21 episodes. One episode, "Player Under Pressure", was left unaired, which was originally scheduled to be broadcast as the second season's 19th episode but was pulled by the Fox network in the United States after the Virginia Tech massacre. The plot involved the discovery of the human remains of a college athlete and eventually aired April 21, 2008, as a part of the third season.

The third season premiered September 25, 2007, in its original premiere timeslot, Tuesday 8:00 pm ET. The show went on hiatus on November 27, 2007, because of the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike and returned on April 14, 2008, in the Monday 8:00 pm ET timeslot. The shortened third season finished May 19, 2008, with a total of 15 episodes.

The fourth season premiered September 3, 2008, on the Fox network in the Wednesday 8:00 pm ET timeslot with a two-hour episode that was filmed on location in London and Oxford, England. Originally scheduled to return from hiatus January 15, 2009, Bones instead resumed one week later because of preemption by President Bush's farewell address. As a result, two new episodes, "Double Trouble in the Panhandle" and "Fire in the Ice", were aired back-to-back January 22, 2009, airing in a new timeslot, Thursday 8:00 pm ET. The fourth-season finale aired May 14, 2009 with a total of 26 episodes.

The fifth season premiered September 17, 2009, on the Fox network and retained its Thursday 8:00 pm ET timeslot. It consisted of 22 episodes and ended May 20, 2010.

Off-network syndication of Bones began the week of January 28, 2008, on TNT.

March 29, 2012, announcing the renewal for an eighth season, Kevin Reilly, Fox's Chairman of Entertainment, said, "Over the past seven seasons, Hart Hanson, Stephen Nathan and the incredible Bones cast and crew have redefined the traditional crime procedural with an irreverent and adventurous sensibility, and I'm really happy to have this distinctive fan-favorite on our schedule for another season."

Online distribution

Fox has released free episodes of Bones and several other primetime series online for viewing on Netflix, Hulu, and its MySpace website, which is owned by the same parent company, News Corporation (now 21st Century Fox), that owns Fox. This began October 3, 2006, but access is restricted to United States residents only. Bones is available on their official website via Fox On Demand. In Canada, recent episodes are available on the Global TV website, and seasons one through eleven are on Netflix.

Spin-off series

Main article: The Finder (U.S. TV series)

In October 2010, it was revealed that Fox was developing a potential spin-off series that would be built around a new recurring character that would be introduced in the sixth season. The potential spin-off series would also be created by Bones creator/executive producer Hart Hanson, and be based on The Locator series of two books written by Richard Greener. The character of Walter is described as an eccentric but amusing recluse in high demand for his ability to find anything. He is skeptical of everything—he suffered brain damage while overseas, which explains his constant paranoia and his being notorious for asking offensive, seemingly irrelevant questions to get to the truth. Production on the episode was scheduled to begin in December 2010, but was delayed to early 2011 due to creative differences.

Creator Hart Hanson posted on Twitter (humorously) regarding the notes he got from the network, "I received studio notes on the Bones spin-off idea. They want it to be better. Unreasonable taskmasters. Impossible dreamers. Neo-platonists." During Fox's TCA press tour, executive producer Stephen Nathan revealed production on the episode featuring The Finder began in February 2011, with the episode airing in April.

In the episode, Booth and Brennan travel to Key West, Florida, where the spin-off is said to take place. Nathan went on to say regarding the casting of character,

"You want to find people you want to see every single week do one unique character. That's why when you have Hugh Laurie, who is essentially playing a very unlikable character, you love to see him. And that is a rare, rare quality to find. And the finder won't be an unlikable character, but because it is a unique character, it's difficult to find just the right person."

Geoff Stults was cast as the lead character with Michael Clarke Duncan and Saffron Burrows cast as the other two lead characters. The three characters were introduced in episode 19 of the sixth season.

The Finder was picked up for the 2011–12 season May 10, 2011, with an order of 13 episodes.

The Finder was canceled May 9, 2012, and aired its final episode two days later.

Reception

Critical response

Reviews for the pilot episode were mixed, and holds a Metacritic score of 55 out of 100, based on 29 critical reviews. Subsequent seasons have received generally positive reviews.

USA Today comments that compared to other crime shows, the show "is built on a more traditional and solid foundation: the strength of its characters" and "what sets Tuesday's Bones premiere apart from the procedural pack are stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, as the season's most appealing new crime fighters." On the other hand, Media Life Magazine posited that while Bones has "an amazingly clever notion, brilliant even", its "execution doesn't match the conception" and based on its first episode, the show "fails to evolve into a gripping series. In fact, it quickly becomes so derivative of so much else on television — especially, strangely, X-Files — that one might even call it bone-headed."

Accolades

Bones has received two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single Camera Series for "The Hero in the Hold" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards and for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role for "The Twist in the Twister" at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Emily Deschanel was nominated for a 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.

The series has also won two Genesis Awards for the episodes "The Woman in Limbo" and "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" for raising awareness on the issues of pig slaughtering and industrial chicken farms, while the episode "The Finger in the Nest" received a nomination.

Bones was nominated for two awards at the 37th People's Choice Awards, for Favorite TV Crime Drama and Emily Deschanel for Favorite TV Crime Fighter. The series received three nominations at the 38th People's Choice Awards, for Favorite TV Crime Drama, David Boreanaz for Favorite TV Drama Actor and Emily Deschanel for Favorite TV Drama Actress. The series received two nominations at the 42nd People's Choice Awards, for Favorite TV Crime Drama and Emily Deschanel for Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress.

Bones was nominated for a 2014 Prism Award for Best Drama Episode – Substance Abuse for the episode "The Friend in Need" and John Francis Daley for Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode.

Other media

Aside from the television broadcast of Bones, its characters and concepts have also been produced in print, on the Internet and in short videos for mobile phones. Currently, there are two print books related to the series, one a novel and the other an official guide.

• Buried Deep (also released as "Bones Buried Deep"; ISBN 978-1-4165-2461-8), written by Max Allan Collins, was published by Pocket Star February 28, 2006. The book is based on the characters in the television series rather than the characters created by Kathy Reichs, who had inspired the concept of Bones. Its plot focuses on Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth's investigation into the skeletal remains left on the steps of a federal building and its connection with a Chicago mob family. Angela, Hodgins and Zack only appear on the end of telephone conversations with Brennan.
• Bones: The Official Companion (ISBN 978-1-84576-539-2) is written by Paul Ruditis and published by Titan Books, released October 16, 2007. The book includes cast and crew interviews, episode guides and a background detail on real-life forensics.

Fox initially made extensive use of the internet to promote Bones. Prior to the broadcast of the second-season episode "The Glowing Bones in the Old Stone House", profiles of the characters involved in the episode were put up on their own MySpace web page. The blog entries of the characters were created to give insight into the potential suspects to be featured in the episode. In the episode, Brennan and her team uses clues from these web pages, which the viewers can also access.

A spin-off series consisting of 26 two-minute episodes, called Bones: Skeleton Crew, was produced by Fox and launched through a partnership with Sprint Nextel in conjunction with MasterCard's sponsorship. It was released to Sprint TV subscribers in November 2006 and released on the official website of Bones on December 4, 2006. The episodes do not feature the show's main cast; its plot revolves around three Jeffersonian Institute lab technicians who use their skills to solve a mystery.

Bonus content was posted by Fox on Bones' official site during the third season, which include short videos featuring Booth and Brennan waiting to see Dr. Sweets for couple's therapy.

Home video releases

The first three seasons, the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth season were released on DVD format only, while seasons four through eight were also released on Blu-ray Disc format.

Season	Episodes			Release dates
	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Season 1	22	22	22	November 28, 2006	October 30, 2006	January 11, 2007
Season 2	21	21	21	September 11, 2007	October 15, 2007	December 3, 2008
Season 3	19	15	15	November 18, 2008	November 17, 2008	March 4, 2009
Season 4	22	26	26	October 6, 2009	October 26, 2009	October 27, 2009
Season 5	22	22	22	October 5, 2010	October 18, 2010	October 27, 2010
Season 6	23	23	23	October 11, 2011	October 17, 2011	November 9, 2011
Season 7	13	13	13	October 9, 2012	October 1, 2012	November 7, 2012
Season 8	24	24	24	October 8, 2013	September 30, 2013	November 20, 2013
Season 9	24	24	24	September 16, 2014	September 15, 2014	November 26, 2014
Season 10	22	22	22	September 29, 2015	October 12, 2015	November 11, 2015
Season 11	22	22	22	January 3, 2017	November 7, 2016	December 7, 2016
Season 12	12	12	12	June 13, 2017	June 19, 2017	June 14, 2017
The Complete Series	246	246	246	June 13, 2017	—	—

External links

• Bones at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Bones at TV Guide