Posted in: Fox, TV | Tagged: bones

Bones Star Emily Deschanel Opens Up About Season 1 Struggles & More

Checking in with David Duchovny's Fail Better podcast, Bones star Emily Deschanel opened up about struggles during filming the first season.

Over the past few months, we've been covering how there has been a steadily growing buzz around the idea of FOX's hit procedural Bones making a return. Previously, David Boreanaz shared that he was interested in returning as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth, one-half of the crime-solving duo that saw him paired with Emily Deschanel's forensic anthropologist Temperance "Bones" Brennan. Shortly after, Deschanel responded that she was surprised by Boreanaz's response and that she would consider returning, too. Then, author, forensic anthropologist, and academician Kathy Reichs (Dr. Kathleen Joan Reichs) – whose "Temperance Brennan" series of novels served as the inspiration for the series and who served as a producer on the series – made it clear that they were all-in on a return, too. Might that be a topic during their bug anniversary reunion event (more on that below) in August? Possibly, but Deschanel is discussing the personal and professional struggles she faced filming the first season.

"We were working insane hours, longer than just a normal series. You're working 14- to 16-hour days, and then I had to memorize the lines. So I'd be staying up late night memorizing lines. I would joke that I would go home and just cry in a bathtub every night because I was just so overwhelmed," Deschanel shared with David Duchovny during a recent episode of Duchovny's Fail Better podcast, opening about being diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia at a young age. "I'd come to set and I would be trying to remember the lines that — I got no sleep and trying to remember the lines that I had memorized the night before, and then I had them in my head and couldn't remember them," she continued. Noting the impact it was having on her while filming, Deschanel added, "I didn't know I was having panic attacks, but I was basically having panic attacks at the time."

Deschanel would go on to share her experience during the early days of filming when she was a half-hour late to work due to an accident that delayed her commute, and the message series creator/showrunner Hart Hanson conveyed to her from their bosses. "Hart knocked on my trailer door, which was not a usual thing; he wasn't knocking on my door often. He took me aside and said, 'The studio has concerns about your work.' They said that I was late and unprepared. And that to me — I get emotional just thinking about it now because it was probably shame [that I was feeling]," Deschanel revealed. "I mean, I was a wreck … I took it so hard, and I was such a fragile person at the time. I got hardened up doing that show for so long. I was not sleeping; I was so stressed out. I was already, I'm an emotional person, so I was just beside myself," she added, tearing up as she continued.

Though he may have had to be the messenger of some not-so-great news, Deschanel credits Hanson for offering her the "support" she needed during the show's run. "Hart helped me find ways to be better, get my job done in terms of learning my lines and remembering them, and a lot of it was having downtime or having some scene that I'm not in, et cetera. He's just a good one. We were so lucky," she shared.

Earlier this month, we learned that Deschanel, Boreanaz, Hanson, T.J. Thyne, and Tamara Taylor would be taking part in a special 20th anniversary reunion event at Televerse. The three-day event from The Television Academy runs from August 14 to 16 at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. Here's a look at the official overview of the event:

"'Bones' 20th Anniversary Panel with Creator and Cast": "Bones" creator/showrunner Hart Hanson and stars Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, T.J. Thyne and Tamara Taylor will reunite for the series' 20th anniversary to revisit the hit procedural's 12-season run, which followed renowned forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan (Deschanel), FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz) and their teams as they investigated and solved crimes. The panel will discuss the show's exploration of science vs. faith, the real-life forensics and anthropologist who inspired the series, the process of crafting the chemistry between the group's ensemble cast, and the show's resonance with fans 20 years later.

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