Season 11 has been a rough time for fans of Fox’s long-running forensic procedural Bones. Between lawsuits and low ratings, a Season 12 didn’t seem too likely. Against all odds, Bones was in fact renewed for a twelfth season that will work to conclusively wrap up the story of Booth and Brennan. Unfortunately for the viewers who rejoiced at the news of Season 12, we won’t be seeing any of those twelve episodes for a while. Fox has bumped Bones from its Fall 2016 schedule to make way for new drama Pitch.
Pitch will occupy the 9 p.m. ET timeslot on Thursdays that had been reserved for Bones this fall. The push for Pitch will knock Bones back to a Winter 2017 debut for Season 12. No exact premiere date has been set yet for either show.
The new series Pitch will follow the story of a woman named Ginny Baker, who becomes the first woman ever to play baseball in the Major League. She’ll face scrutiny from the media as she breaks ground for both women and baseball. Baker, who will be a professional pitcher, will go on a dramatic and intensely emotional journey in the spotlight. Ginny will be played by Kylie Bunbury of Under the Dome.
As much of a bummer as it must be to Bones fans who were counting on more of Booth and Brennan sooner than 2017, moving Pitch to a fall premiere date makes a lot of sense. The playoffs and World Series of Major League Baseball can almost work as free advertising for Pitch. The country will be in a baseball sort of mood already; why not tune into a show about baseball? Fall could be the perfect season to establish a core fanbase for the new show.
Bones doesn’t exactly have the same uphill battle to fight as Pitch. Season 12 is actually designed to end the series, so the aim is not to attract legions of new viewers. The final twelve episodes will work as closure for fans who have tuned in for twelve years of forensic adventure, and any fans who have stuck around this long will surely be back for the last season no matter when it airs.
Hopefully, Bones will start getting better press in the meantime. The lawsuits from executive producer Barry Josephson as well as stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz haven’t exactly painted the show or the network in the best light. Bones deserves some positive attention as it heads toward its swan song season in 2017.
For a look at what shows you’ll be able to watch during the wait for Bones to return next winter, check out our schedule of summer TV premiere dates. Don’t forget to take a look at the latest shows that have been cancelled to see what you shouldn’t expect to be back on the airwaves in the fall. The rest of Season 11 of Bones in 2016 airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
