Jack Hodgins is no Matthew Crawley.
Dr. Hodgins, played by T.J. Thyne on the Fox drama Bones, starts the second half of the show’s eleventh season – Thursday, 8 p.m. ET – in a wheelchair.
That’s not happy news for anyone, and executive producer/co-showrunner Michael Peterson says it’s not a tragedy that’s going to go away any time soon.
“We wanted to be sure Hodgins’s story wasn’t like Matthew Crawley on Downton Abbey,” Peterson told TV writers Tuesday, alluding to a character who was apparently paralyzed and then a few episodes later stood up and carried on.
“Hodgins’ story won’t be quick and done,” Peterson said. “Dramatically, it’s been a real opportunity for us to explore,” because it means all the other characters are reacting to his situation.
Hodgins suffered delayed paralysis after being caught in an explosion (below).
“There are a ton of challenges for him,” says Peterson, “and we see his frustration. You’ll see him in the lab, realizing all the things he can’t do the way he used to. We see his denial and, slowly, his anger.
“When we told T.J. what we were planning, he couldn’t have been more excited. He’s been great. If we give answers he thinks are too easy, he says no, we have to go all the way.”
In an odd sense, Peterson says, the whole show has been feeling some of that same emotional upheaval since Fox announced in February that the twelfth season of Bones, debuting in the fall, will be its last.
“I don’t mean to compare the end of a TV show to something as serious as a life-changing injury,” he says. “But we love this show. It’s family. We wanted to keep it going. So we’ve gone through every emotion possible, and now we’re at acceptance.
“It’s very rare for a show to get the kind of advance notice that enables us to go out in style.”
There has been speculation about a spinoff, despite the failure of The Finder (left) in 2011-12, and Peterson says he wouldn’t discourage it.
“I’d love to write this show for the rest of my life,” he says, “so if there were a spinoff or [related show], let me at it.”
He says the team, which also includes co-showrunner John Collier, hasn’t begun much concrete planning for the final season, concentrating instead on this year’s remaining episodes.
Peterson says the final season’s 12 episodes will not be split up, but “will run as consecutively as possible,” given that Fox has baseball and other obligations in the fall.
He says the final season is expected to include a number of returning guest stars, and that creator Hart Hanson will write the final episode.
“It will be a grand slam,” Peterson promises.
As for what to expect the rest of this season, Peterson forecasts things will be funny, creepy and quirky for Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel), Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) and the rest of the forensics team that solves crimes and generates unending internal drama.
“Episode 18 is kind of a cross between Modern Family and Making of a Murderer,” says Peterson. “If you find it creepy, I will take that as a compliment.”