Bones is getting older and in recent seasons the show has been changing up formats and adding new characters in order to keep things fresh. For the upcoming 11th season of the drama, Bones is adding a veteran actress in a pretty intriguing role. Betty White is joining Season 11 of Bones, and she’s signed on to play the latest squintern at the Jeffersonian. Let the shenanigans begin.
So far, it seems as if White has only been signed on in a guest-starring capacity, although Bones has a penchant for re-using squinterns that fit in with the team over and over again. It may help that White no longer has responsibilities on Hot in Cleveland, which ended its run on TV Land this June. So, theoretically, she may have more time to pop up in the new season of Fox's procedural, should the writers want to go that route.
While we don’t know if we will see White on the series more than once, we do know which character she will be playing. TV Line reports White has signed on as Dr. Beth Mayer, a woman who is described as the “world’s most experienced” forensic anthropologist. Obviously, since Brennan is usually the most experienced anthropologist in the room, this will cause a little friction between the two women—especially considering Mayer will have 50 years of experience to back her expertise.
When she pops up in late October, the case of the week will feature a dead body related to a fantasy football league. What I find most interesting about this is that it doesn’t seem as if Bones will waste any time getting to the point in terms of getting Brennan and Booth back to the Jeffersonian. We knew the show didn’t want to change casts or sets and would be getting back to the lab we know and love. Still,Bones will be rebooting pretty quickly.
In addition, Bones has featured a revolving cast of squinterns for a long time, but they have often been younger people in the field who are willing to help out and learn from Brennan, Hodgins and the rest of the team. The fact that White’s Mayer is already an expert in her field should mean the case should develop even more smoothly, that is, if Brennan can manage to check her ego.
Bones will feature a six-month time gap when it returns on October 1, and Betty White’s big gig will hit the schedule just a few weeks later. While we don’t know a ton about next season, we do know that Booth will be missing when the series premieres. We also know Fox has a big crossover episode planned for later in the season with the network’s other Thursday night hit, Sleepy Hollow. You can tune in for the big Season 11 premiere on Thursday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET. In the meantime, here’s what else is coming out this fall.
