“Bones” star Emily Deschanel took her role on the popular police procedural seriously — particularly when it came to ensuring Dr. Temperance Brennan served as a role model for young women.
“Younger people watched it,” the actress explained in a June 2019 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “So you have to think about young girls watching the show and seeing female role models and scientists who are really smart and accomplished in their careers, and are successful.”
Deschanel added, “I loved, like I was saying, that we had these strong female characters. Hart Hanson, who created it, was a feminist himself and we talked about how my character would never be saved by the male lead until I saved him first.”
Brennan was a powerful central character and a true expert in her field throughout the show’s 12-season run, even taking on rotating groups of interns. It’s no surprise she became a pop culture catalyst for women to pursue the sciences — something Deschanel has said was one of her dearest things about playing the role.
“My favorite thing ever was when I met young girls who said they wanted to become scientists or they were in the process of studying science because of watching the show,” she told the outlet. “That just makes me so happy that we had that kind of impact on people in such a positive way.”
Temperance Brennan resonated in ways beyond science
Brennan’s impact extended beyond empowering women in science. In a March 2017 essay for Glamour, Jennifer Malia argued that the character was an excellent representation of an autistic woman — and potentially one of the only accurate portrayals on TV at that time, despite never being formally diagnosed.
The character was reportedly based on one of Hart Hanson’s friends with Asperger’s syndrome. In a chat with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Emily Deschanel has said that the character “almost has Asperger’s syndrome.”
“I think it’s fascinating to have a character who’s brilliant in one area and clueless [in others],” the actress shared. Deschanel’s character was a forensic anthropologist working out of Washington, D.C., who wasn’t exactly the most socially skilled person. Brennan would employ what became a frequent catchphrase — “I don’t know what that means” — when her peers would highlight pop culture references, which solidified her slight disconnect from the social world. What she lacked in social understanding, she made up for in smarts and strength.
