Why was The Bones season 10 finale written like a series finale?

“Bones” may have been off the air for several years, but that doesn’t mean its fans are any less loyal. Thanks to constant reruns on cable and viewers discovering the show via streaming, it remains very popular. The series focuses largely on Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seely Booth (David Boreanaz), who work together to solve murders. “Bones” aired on Fox and was filmed mostly in Los Angeleseven though it technically takes place in Washington, D.C

Ultimately, “Bones” ran for 12 seasons, concluding in 2017. So, when the “Bones” season 10 finale aired, viewers still had two full seasons of adventures with Brennan and Booth left to go. However, at the time, the show makers had to treat the Season 10 finale as if it might be the series finale. Executive producer Stephen Nathan spoke to TV guide In 2015 and breaking what happened. For starters, the Season 10 finale that fans saw was not the episode the show’s creators originally planned to make. So why did they have to change course? As Nathan explained:

“We had already planned a very different ending to the season, a much more traditional ending and a situation that would get us into Season 11. But the pick-up, which we always expected, did not come for many reasons that were beyond our control.”

For what it’s worth, “Bones” was a show that was often on the bubble and could have ended several times during its run, so this wasn’t entirely unfamiliar territory for its creators. However, when the renewal came from the network, it was too late to change course again. As such, the Season 10 finale had to go ahead as it was written. Nathan added that the series’ designs would not run the risk of disappointing audiences further, explaining:

“We were then told, ‘This could be the end of the series,’ and ‘we realized we couldn’t let down the audience and the fans who had been so important to us for a decade (…) and give up an episode.’ It’s very likely that this will be the last episode ever, so we had to write a series finale that would hopefully have some continuity of atmosphere, but the reality is that this was the end at this point.

The season 10 finale, titled “Next to Last”, first aired in June 2015. In the episode, Jefferson’s team discovers the remains of a victim at a crime scene that indicate a potential protégé of the serial killer. Christopher Pelant aka The Activist, the villain who terrorized Deschanel. This then forces them to reconsider their previous work on Pelant while investigating new evidence that will hopefully lead them to the copycat killer. Meanwhile, Brennan and Booth consider options outside of Jefferson and the FBI, which is the thread being pulled to make this episode feel like a finale.

The show’s 10th season was, in fact, a milestone for other reasons as well. For one, Season 10 of “Bones” saw the death of John Francis Daley Sweets. This was also the point at which “Bones” aired for an entire decade. It is difficult to maintain a certain level of quality for a long time. To that end, Nathan explained why this episode was a fitting end to the series, even though that’s not how things worked out:

“We all talk about endings and getting a certain kind of ending, but in life, there’s only one ending that’s final, and that’s death. Aside from that, it’s just change. What Brennan always said is, ‘There’s no such thing as closure.’ Everyone wants to wrap something up with a neat ribbon and say, “Okay, that’s it, now this starts.” “Life doesn’t work that way, and Booth and Brennan have pretty much proven that that’s the case.”

“Bones” is now streaming on Hulu, Or you can buy the entire series on DVD from Amazon.