The Story Behind How Bones Actually Changed Its Original Title After David Boreanaz Came On Board
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Before David Boreanaz played Jason Hayes on SEAL Team and portrayed Angel on the character's eponymous show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he played FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth on Fox’s Bones. Although the series lost its way towards the end, as it ran for 12 seasons, it still remained a favorite among viewers. With Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel and their co-stars in the mix, the series proved to be successful. You may not believe it, but the show had a very different name before Boreanaz became involved.
Fans of the procedural probably know that Emily Deschanel’s Temperance Brennan also goes by the nickname “Bones,” hence the title of the series. However, the OG name for the drama series was actually going to simply be Brennan. That was the approach taken for fellow Fox program House, which was named after Hugh Laurie’s eponymous character on the medical drama. So what exactly brought on the change? Well, via SlashFilm, creator Hart Hanson revealed in Bones: The Official Companion that it took a lot of time for the creative team to figure out the title, but they finally reached a decision once they saw the work of their two lead stars:
We agonized about a title. Initially, we thought it was going to be a single person lead, that we would find Temperance Brennan and she would work with a number of different law enforcement agencies. Then we saw Emily and David working together and thought, 'Oh, we've got a much better thing to do here.' ‘Bones' is her nickname, and it's the start of every story; it's the bones. So we thought, 'Yeah, that's good. That's better than just Brennan.' And, this way, it was easier to acknowledge that it was more of an ensemble piece than a single lead character.
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I'd imagine that coming up with a title for a show is hard, as a good TV moniker should be catchy and uncomplicated. That’s not to say that Brennan wasn’t a bad choice and, early on, that would've fit, considering that viewers were going to see the titular character interacting with other officers and solving cases. Yet it's hard to deny the chemistry between Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. Considering that Bones became more of a two-hander, it made sense to go with Temperance's nickname for the title than. Otherwise, the original idea would've suggested that she alone was at the center of the series.
Additionally, Hart Hanson previously explained to GiveMeMyRemote that Booth was initially just going to serve as “one of the many cops” that Brennan interacted with and wasn’t going to be in every episode. I'm so glad Hanson and his team decided to change course in that regard. I think most fans would agree with me when I say that the relationship between Brennan and Booth is what truly makes the series special.
It could be argued that Bones (which ended on a mostly positive note) is ultimately a show that aired too long. However, Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz’s chemistry made it worth watching all the way through. Since the show is still loved by fans today and is still viewed by Hulu subscription holders, could there be a chance at a comeback? In 2023, Hart Hanson said a revival is “complicated” due to the Fox and Disney merger, which opens up questions about IP rights. Still, Hanson seems to think a sequel series is possible.
When thinking about the show's beginnings, I'm tempted to think that it still would've been successful had it been named Brennan. But, then again, Bones really does have a nice ring to it. So shout out to the producers for realizing that a change was necessary after David Boreanaz was tapped for the production.
