For many Bones fans, this is a week for the ages, as the long-running Fox drama will finally come to a close after twelve seasons. And when it goes, that means TV viewers might have to go through a primetime season without Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz on our screens. That is, unless this new gig that Boreanaz already has lined up ends up working out for him. The actor has signed on for a lead role in CBS' in-development drama pilot centered on the Navy SEALs. You might recall another actor having that role recently.
That's right, David Boreanaz wasn't producers' first choice to head up the Navy SEAL drama, as that distinction went to actor Jim Caviezel, who himself was following up a hit run on CBS' Person of Interest. But he's in the past now, and instead of a former Jesus Christ, we have a former vampire coming in to lead a team of highly skilled and extremely dangerous SEALs for what will assumedly be a non-stop series of death-defying missions attempting to bring peace to the modern world.
For the still untitled project, David Boreanaz will play a character named Jason, who is as dedicated and talented a commander as there is for the team of Navy SEALs under his thumb. He's well respected by his peers, having been out on over a dozen deployments, but don't be fooled into thinking those deployments left him physically and mentally unscathed, as he's got his demons to worry about. According to Deadline, Boreanaz has been a hot property for studios to go after during this pilot season, so it's possibly a testament to the script that this is the project he signed on for.
CBS' Navy SEAL drama was written by Ben Cavell, a former writer and producer for dramas like Homeland and Justified, and showrunner duties will be taken on by former Without a Trace and The Practice writer/producer Ed Redlich. The pilot also has a director already on board in Chris Chulack, best known for his work on ER, Shameles and most recently TNT's Animal Kingdom. The cast also includes Max Theriot, Neil Brown Jr., A.J. Buckley, Toni Trucks and Jessica Pare. But, again, not Jim Caviezel.
David Boreanaz has been a TV regular since first appearing on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in its 1997 series premiere, and that was a gig that got its own spinoff, which he fronted for years before eventually moving on to Fox for the crime drama Bones. TV won't be the same without Booth and Brennan solving weird and often gross murders, but at least we'll likely have a new place to find the actor. And we shouldn't expect him to ever return to any of his previous TV universes, as the dude does not go for reunions.
Get your tissues and your microscopes handy, as Bones will be coming to a dead end (hopefully without much death involved) on Fox on Tuesday, March 28, at 8:00 p.m. ET, for the second half of its two-part finale. While waiting to hear if David Boreanaz's new gig moves forward, head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer TV guide to check out everything that'll be hitting the small screen when Bones is behind us.
