Emily Deschanel Was Roped Into A Bones-Like Investigation (And Managed To Solve It) - SlashFilm (2025)

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Emily Deschanel began her career back in 1994 and has appeared in several TV shows and movies. But by far her most memorable and best-known role was as forensic anthropologist Temperance "Bones" Brennan on Fox's offbeat procedural "Bones." Not only did she play the role for 12 straight seasons between 2005 and 2017, but Deschanel alsodirected one of the most important "Bones" episodes and became a producer on the series around season 4, ensuring she had an element of control over the show that came to define her career. In turn, Deschanel played a large part in defining the series itself, which, after such a long on-air run, is impossible to think about without the actress in the lead role.

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There is another woman without whom neither "Bones" nor Temperance Brennan would exist, however: Kathy Reichs. A real-life forensic anthropologist, Reichs used her decades of experience to write a series of mystery novels based around the Brennan character, who in turn was based on herself. It began in 1997 with the book "Deja Dead" and the series remains ongoing to this day. Meanwhile, Reichs remains actively certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and has helped solve major cases throughout her storied career. One of her lesser achievements, but an interesting one nonetheless, is helping Deschanel solve a "Bones"-like mystery in the years after the Fox show wrapped up.

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Ever since "Bones" went off the air, there's been talk of a revival, and while Emily Deschanel has said she won't star in a show like "Bones" again, she has always spoken in positive terms about returning to the role of Temperance Brennan. In the meantime, it seems she's taken on some of her character's reputation. The actress, who currently co-hosts the "Bones" rewatch podcast "Boneheads," recently appeared on the Broad Ideas podcast, where she recalled how she was asked to solve the mystery of some bones which had been dug up by none other than the creators of "Stranger Things," the Duffer Brothers.

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According to Deschanel, she and the Duffer Brothers have a mutual friend, and this friend contacted the actress after the brothers discovered bones during a dig. "They found bones while digging up for something," she said. "I don't know if it was for their office or for a house or something like that. They're like, 'Are these human?'" was the question, and I had no idea because I'm not that good." Deschanel continued to explain that while she didn't have the expertise necessary to identify whether the bones in question were human, she did have Kathy Reichs' number. She said:

"What I do have is Kathy Reichs, who was the author of the books and is a forensic anthropologist herself [...] I have her on speed dial, texted her the photos, and immediately [she] was like, 'Animal.' I may not be able to solve something like that but I got a guy, I got a gal."

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Thankfully, the Duffers hadn't uncovered some sort of horrific crime scene, and this became an amusing anecdote that also just reminds us how closely associated Deschanel is Temperance Brennan.