Bob Fisher
Distinguished Jeffersonian Institute alumni donned their safety badges and badges to gather in a lively picket line for the Bones writers’ reunion outside Fox Studios on Friday morning.
The gathering of writers, actors, directors and crew members from the Fox drama series once again proved that “Bones” was one of the happiest filming locations on television during its twelve seasons from 2005 to 2017. Star Emily Deschanel, who played forensic anthropologist Temperance “Bones” Brennan in the trial, was present at the strike demonstration on day 67 of the Writers Guild of America strike. So have series showrunners Hart Hanson, Stephen Nathan, Jonathan Collier, and Michael Peterson, as well as writers and producers like Liz Benjamin, Dean Lopata, Janet Lin, and Karine Rosenthal.
“All the truisms about why a show is a happy, non-toxic place is why ‘Bones’ was such a happy place,” Hanson told Variety. “Who is #1 on the call sheet? What is this person like? How is number 2, 3, 4, 5? How is the line producer? We had a happy crew. The actors were nice to the crew. There was no tension between the writers and the directing producer and the actors. It was a very pleasant place to work and remained so for many, many years.”
The Bones experience also stands out for veterans because it has been a stable source of employment for so long. Few shows make it to season 4, let alone season 12, these days. The case-of-the-week format provided an engine overlaid by a slowly building romance for Deschanel’s character, who worked at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute, and her co-star David Boreanaz, who played FBI special agent Seeley Booth.
For many working Hollywood writers, the experience of working on such a long-lived show feels like a distant memory. The massive shifts in the industry over the last decade toward higher overall series volume with fewer seasons, smaller writer spaces, and fewer episodes per season have put a heavy strain on the writer tribe. The WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers disagree over the WGA’s requirement to hire more writers per series and for at least 10 weeks at a time. These requirements would have been unthinkable ten years ago as the entire episodic TV production process was significantly different.
“I feel very blessed to have been on Bones because it was my introduction to how (television) works. And it worked beautifully,” Peterson told Variety. “We worked 46 weeks a year. Some years have biennial pickups so you can plan your life. And I feel terrible for the next generation where you can’t plan your life. If you’re lucky, you work 10 weeks and then you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I was very blessed for my time on Bones and would wish that for any other writer. It was a good way of life.”
The lengthy picket lines since the strike began on May 2 have given the authors plenty of time to compare and contrast the linear television paradigm with the streaming model. It’s no surprise that writers who put their heart and soul into series are frustrated by the relatively short shelf life of contemporary television.
“I think with all this ‘Let’s cancel everything after two or three seasons,’ they make a catastrophic mistake,” showrunner Mike Royce told Variety at the Bones strike demonstration. “I know the economic reasons for this. And they have all this data to show that most of the shows are going down (in viewership) after Season 3.”
What is lost, however, is the chance for fans to form a deep bond with shows that become a habit over the years. It also means that series have far fewer episodes for long-term library value. The success of persistent network procedures such as Bones, ER, CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, and Law & Order:SVU on streaming platforms is a striking example of the power of a comprehensive library.
“It feels like you want to promote the things that grow an audience so you can fill your library — that’s how every successful show was ever engineered.” And those hit shows are the ones that form a groove in you, which you’ll return to later,” Royce said. “I think (streamers) just duped themselves in building libraries. And now they have to be constantly on the lookout for the newest, shiniest thing, because that’s the model they’ve built.”
Anders Holm, co-creator of Comedy Central’s Workaholics, was showrunner Hanson’s assistant on the first season of Bones. Today he is a showrunner himself. The work he oversaw in 22 episodes of “Bones” in Season 1 was tantamount to a master’s degree in television. The shorter episode orders and lack of exposure to physical production have made it harder for baby writers and assistants to find training opportunities. Holm still remembers his first peek behind the curtain into a writer’s room.
“It’s just inspiring to be around people who come up with ideas on the fly and get paid for it,” Holm told Variety. “Being with these people before you’re actually a paid writer – it just makes you want to work harder, ask questions, and learn as much as you can.”
The Simpsons writer Ian Maxtone-Graham presents the Bones badge and patch he received for his cameo in the series.
Holm voiced the concerns of others that the changing economics of television will make long-distance shows like Bones even rarer in the years to come.
“They must want to get back into television,” Holm told Variety. “They can go back to original content and just do reality shows if they want. There is something very special that the authors have created over many years that brings people together. Shows characters we remember, characters we love. If we want to come back to make such special things, a deal has to be made.”
Fans Gary Hairfield and Nancy Hairfield attend the “Bones” demonstration at Fox Studios
Bones aired its final episode six years ago, but its fan base has only grown, especially now that the series is fully available through streamers Hulu and Freevee, as well as linear cable channel BBC America. Nancy Hairfield and Gary Hairfield are die-hard Bones fans who traveled from San Diego to attend the West Los Angeles rally. Gary pushed Nancy in a wheelchair while she held a WGA picket sign that read ‘This is not the way’. “I’m a big fan of ‘Bones,'” Nancy explained with a smile.
The influence of “Bones” and his portrayal of a shrewd anthropologist was also evident when a young woman asked Deschanel to sign the diploma she received from La Verne University in 2019. your major? Anthropology. Deschanel was visibly touched by the encounter.
Another non-WGA participant was a young woman from South Korea, who told Variety that she now works in television and wants to be a writer. They were motivated in part by the fear that artificial intelligence apps could take over tasks that are now done by humans.
“I can’t stand AI,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “This is the first time I am joining a strike. I came here with my friends and I really care about standing up for the rights we deserve as writers.”
Sophia Sun contributed to this report.