Let’s talk about religion. History shows us that some people don’t appreciate entertainment poking fun at their beliefs, but that didn’t stop the creators of “Bones” from doing so in Season 1 of the acclaimed procedural series.
“There was a line right in the beginning of the series, [Season 1, Episode 9], that I was amazed the network let us put in,” Hanson told Gold Derby in 2025. “The two of them are talking [about voodoo and Catholicism], and Booth said something like, ‘We don’t make zombies,’ and Brennan says, ‘Jesus rose from the dead after three days,’ and he said, ‘Jesus is not a zombie!’ That’s our show: Is Jesus a zombie?”
The scene epitomizes the subversive and quirky qualities that define “Bones,” yet it didn’t lead to overnight success for the series. In fact, “Bones” took three seasons to convince Fox it actually had an audience, but it paid off.
Bones was an unlikely success story for Fox
“Bones” is a prime example of the little engine that could. During its run, the procedural kept bouncing between time slots — including a brief move to Fridays, an evening that’s proven to be a death knell for many series. Despite a lack of support from Fox, the show always found its audience, no matter the time slot. Hanson credits, “They never really tried to make us a hit … but we were a mighty little program you schedule around,” Hart Hanson told TVInsider in 2017. “That gave us a certain longevity that maybe if we hadn’t had the chance to prove that, we would have been canceled as not a bad performer in a protected slot.”
Hanson noted that Fox viewed “Bones” as a utility series, but it had support from one major player at the network – Preston Beckman, Fox’s head of scheduling. Beckman was a fan of the series and pushed for each season’s renewal. Ultimately, “Bones” became successful enough to produce a spin-off that Hanson knew would tank. That said, the fact an offshoot exists at all is a testament to the staying power of the mothership series.
