Despite ending its twelve-season run in 2017, the character-driven procedural Bones still remains a beloved and regularly watched part of the yearly TV schedule through syndicated reruns, not to mention streaming binges, with fans hoping for an eventual revival for stars David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. Their characters Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan remain a fan-favorite pairing-turned-couple, and Boreanaz has a very specific explanation for why their chemistry was so strong.
Speaking with Variety about saying goodbye to the Paramount+ military drama SEAL Team, which delivered its series finale on October 6, Boreanaz addressed how cherished Bones is to fans and to him as an actor, and how well established Brennan and Booth’s kinship was from the very start (which was strong enough to inspire the creator to take the show in a different direction from his original plans). The actor gives Deschanel much of the credit for agreeing to his offbeat request. As he put it:
Being able to go to your co-star and be like, ‘Hey, I’m going to be working on the weekends with my acting teacher [Ivana Chubbuck], who I think is the best and can offer some connection for the two of us,’ is the start. That was the inception. I think that it would’ve been a little bit more challenging for me to do it singularly, and then to try to explain all that stuff to the opposing co-star, as well as to the showrunner and to the writers. Then it just becomes a different type of project, right? And that’s tough. So I’m grateful for her grace to accept it and then stick with it for so many years. Out of the 12 or 13 years that we did, it was nine or 10 years solid [where] every weekend, we were rewriting dialogue, doing exercises, finding the space.
Assuming his math is sound, it sounds like David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel spent roughly 75% of their years together on Bones going the extra mile by working with acting teacher Ivana Chubbuck on a weekly basis to not only perfect their on-screen chemistry, but to further develop the scripts they'd be working from. It takes confidence to feel comfortable making those changes.
The acting duo's continued dedication to making their roles richer is definitely a sign of all-time great on-screen couplings. And it paid off as the years went on, too, with the pair reaching a point where they were basically in a flow state regarding their performances. He continued, saying:
Knowing that we’d done the work and we could throw it away — and then you could do that character, and it comes out instinctually — was the tipping point for that show. It really bonded us, and as much pushback as we may have gotten from the network at certain times, we continued to do it. Ivana comes up with an amazing toolbox of ideas that is so personable to oneself and the development of the character that you put the two of them in the same room together, and then it starts to become really great. You don’t have that if you don’t have Ivana; you don’t have that if Emily doesn’t say yes. So that was a big blessing to get that, and that’s not easy to get.
Fans have long yearned to see Brennan and Booth back on the small screen. There was talk previously about a follow-up movie, which Boreanaz previously did not seem to have much interest in, though he now sounds slightly more intrigured by the potential to return to that particular role, with the caveat that it be of a limited nature. With SEAL Team wrapping up a highly streamed final season, with Boreanaz being fully ready for the end.
For those who wish to relive the evolution of the couple's relationship, check out the video below that lays out what made them so special.
As a further sign of just how universally beloved Bones is, fans can find it streaming with a Peacock subscription, a Disney+ subscription, or through Roku Channel. Stay tuned for further updates about a potential revival.