‘Bones’ Renewal Doesn’t Suggest a Final Season

Bones Deschanel Boreanaz - H 2012

FOX

Tuesday's early renewal for Bones comes with plenty of questions about whether or not the upcoming ninth season will be the series' last.

And though there was no clear answer when Fox Broadcasting entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly spoke with reporters during the Television Critics Association summer press tour, he was decidedly optimistic.

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"Not right now," he said to the idea of planning an endgame to the Hart Hanson procedural. "We're going to take that one and see where we go. It's been a great run."

Bones now anchors Fox's Monday block, which has seen a rotation of neighbors since House ended last year.

Showrunners Hanson and Stephen Nathan have previously expressed an interest in going on after nine. And Hanson has spoken of a tenth season before.

"I'd like season 10," he told The Hollywood Reporter last year. "After that, there would have to be another huge change in the series. But I can see through to season 10. Who knows if they want us that long or not."  

When asked specifically about a tenth season, Reilly had this to say: "I think it can keep going, quite frankly."

Lesley Goldberg contributed to this report.

Email: Michael.OConnell@THR.com; Twitter: @MikeyLikesTV

Michael O'Connell