From executive producers Barry Josephson and Hart Hanson comes the darkly amusing drama Bones, inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan, who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and writes novels as a sideline, has an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones. Consequently, law enforcement calls her in to assist with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned, or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless. Brennan has been teamed with Special Agent Seeley Booth, a former Army sniper who mistrusts science and scientists when it comes to solving crimes. Brennan and Booth clash both professionally and personally, but the chemistry between them has grown since they first met and has made them a strong and trusting team. Brennan's equally brilliant colleagues (or "squints" as they're often called) at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab include earthy and bawdy Angela Montenegro, who's created a unique way to render an original crime scene in a three-dimensional computer image; Dr. Jack Hodgins, who's an expert on insects, spores and minerals, but conspiracy is his hobby; and Brennan's boss Dr. Camille "Cam" Saroyan, who replaced Dr. Daniel Goodman after the first season. Zack Addy, a young prodigy whose genius IQ sometimes distances him from reality, was Brennan's former assistant, but at the end of season three he left the Jeffersonian.

To aid Booth and Brennan in their persisting struggles, psychologist Dr. Lance Sweets signed on in season three as their therapist, and more recently has been hired to work in the lab to provide his unique input on cases.