'Bones' Renewal Doesn't Suggest a Final Season

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.

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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