Bones
FOX | Release Date: September 13, 2005
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
15
Negative:
5
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Philadelphia Daily NewsEllen Gray
Season 4 Review: Across the pond, wisecracks, sexual tension and some broad shots at Britain's class system make for a predictable two hours with some pleasant scenery. Read full review
60
Cleveland Plain DealerMark Dawidziak
Season 1 Review: There's a fine line between clever and labored, and "Bones" sometimes strays over that line with one-liners about skull fragments, blood samples, X-rays and microbes. That's where "see how cleverly we can banter" writing creeps into the otherwise crisp proceedings. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesPaul Brownfield
Season 1 Review: Rather too slick for its own good. Read full review
60
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 1 Review: Deschanel exudes a luminous quality that elevates this grim, conventional show. Read full review
60
PopMattersLeigh H. Edwards
Season 6 Review: Each member makes a case for his or her status as the team's "linchpin," allowing the rest of us to see a little more about all, rather than the series' usual focus on Bones and Booth. A love letter to group synergy and the fruits of hard labor, the entire episode makes its own case for the team's existence. The whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: The quality of the mystery in the pilot, no better than mediocre, is what keeps this series from starting off with a wider lead at the opening gun. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: It could use a little more dramatic meat on its predictable framework. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: Clings to proven formulas. Read full review
50
The A.V. Club
Season 1 Review: Boreanaz and Deschanel have nice chemistry... but the script also tends to undermine its brighter moments with dialogue that repeats the exposition and the characters' defining traits over and over again. Read full review
40
Orlando SentinelHal Boedeker
Season 4 Review: Bones is back, and sad to say, the Fox drama is not at its best. Read full review
40
PopMattersTodd R. Ramlow
Season 4 Review: The two-hour Season Four premiere sends FBI Special Agent Seely Booth (David Boreanaz) and forensic anthropologist Bones Brennan to England, and the result is disappointing, lacking the series’ usual wit and cool science-y stuff. Read full review
40
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Season 1 Review: The scientific setup may be intriguing... But the dialogue, including the contrived sexual tension between Temperance and Seeley, is strictly canned and cutesy. Read full review
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: It's an (occasionally) frothy mix -- comedic moments tumble into serious scenes of forensic examination -- that's not altogether terrible, but neither does it beg to be watched on a regular basis. Read full review
40
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Season 1 Review: "Bones" probably will remind more viewers of a cross between "CSI" and "The X-Files," except with more humorous banter than the first, and more romantic heat than the latter. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: Deschanel comes off a little too much like a sorority girl rather than a scientist with missing-parent issues. Read full review
Current TV Shows
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 92 The Pitt: Season 2
2 90 The Celebrity Traitors UK: Season 1
3 87 Hacks: Season 5
4 87 Industry: Season 4
5 87 Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal:...
6 85 The Beatles Anthology
7 85 The Traitors [UK]: Season 4
8 85 Bait: Season 1
9 84 Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
10 83 Lord of the Flies
11 83 Riot Women: Season 1
12 83 For All Mankind: Season 5
13 81 The Muppet Show (2026)
14 80 Outlander (2014): Season 8
15 80 The Other Bennet Sister: Season 1
16 80 The Mighty Nein: Season 1
17 80 The Comeback: Season 3
18 80 The American Revolution
19 80 One Piece (2023): Season 2
20 80 Dark Winds: Season 4
SEE ALL