Emily Deschanel spent more than a decade as the face of one of Fox’s most successful dramas, playing forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan as she teamed up with FBI Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) to crack cases. Now, following the 20th anniversary of Bones and nearly ten years after the finale, Deschanel is coming to a new TV project involving the fictional FBI.
The Bones leading lady has signed on to star in a pilot for NBC following a psychologist who leads a team that consults with the FBI on “baffling and elusive cases,” according to Variety. Deschanel would play Professor Georgia Ryan, who “challenges the field of criminology” by focusing on the victim as well as the perpetrator of a crime. This could lead to clues that would otherwise be overlooked under traditional methods of investigation.
The project is inspired by the work of real-life expert profiler Dr. Ann Burgess. Per Deadline, the pilot is being penned by Dean Georgaris, who most recently worked with NBC as an executive producer of Quantum Leap, which was cancelled ahead of a third season. Other writing credits include TV projects like ABC’s The Baker and the Beauty and NBC’s The Brave, as well as big screen projects like Jason Statham’s shark blockbuster The Meg. Georgaris’ co-writer is Davis Entertainment President John Fox, and both are executive producers.
All of this said, it’s worth remembering that the project, which is currently untitled, is only in the pilot stage of development, so there’s no guarantee that Emily Deschanel will be back in the crime drama sphere by the end of the 2026 TV schedule or into next year. It remains to be seen if NBC will give a series order. If so, this would be Deschanel’s first lead role on a network TV show since Bones wrapped in 2017.
The actress went through the wringer in the early years of Bones, to the point of “basically having panic attacks” and working long hours starting early in the morning. Part of the longevity of the show is also undoubtedly due to her famous chemistry with co-lead David Boreanaz. I’m now curious to see who fills out the cast of the project, as well as whether she’ll have another co-lead.
In some interesting timing, that former co-lead is also on the way to NBC if his new pilot gets a series order. David Boreanaz signed on for the Rockford Files reboot of the original series, which starred James Garner and ran for six seasons from 1974 - 1980. While Boreanaz and Deschanel wouldn’t exactly be sharing the screen on a weekly basis if both of their projects are ordered to series, they would be back on the same network.
NBC has been a strong home for crime dramas, with Law & Order: SVU in Season 27, Law & Order in Season 25, and Chicago P.D. in Season 13 at the time of writing. That’s not to say that all crime shows are a hit on the network, and the description of Deschanel’s pilot actually reminds me of Jesse L. Martin’s The Irrational, which was cancelled last spring despite the showrunner’s hopes to “keep making it.”
For now, you can always revisit Emily Deschanel’s days as a forensic anthropologist with all twelve seasons of Bones streaming now on a variety of platforms, including via a Hulu subscription, Peacock subscription, and Amazon Prime subscription.
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