“We haven’t had any discussions yet,” Reilly said to the crowd at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “I think the producer would like to keep it going. We’d like to keep it going.”

The move to Thursday has also been a boon to the series’ success, which brought the strongest ratings in its six-season tenure on the network.

“We’ve been patty darn happy with the performance of ‘Bones’ on Thursday night,” Reilly continues, pointing at how it thrives while other procedurals have flagged. “That’s a really valuable show to us.”

The mid-season introduction of pseudo-spin-off The Finder could also work in Bones favor. “We have nothing coming in that could replace it, other than I think, “Finder,’” Reilly says. “I can see those shows being compatible.”

THR: How will Emily Deschanel’s pregnancy impact the story line?
Hanson: The baby will be born, and these two disparate people are going to have to figure out the environment in which that child will be raised. What is their relationship? Are they going live together? How involved will Booth be in the raising of the baby? We have a shortened season because Emily is actually pregnant. We hope to get 16 episodes done, I’m sure we will. That’s going be the bulk of this year.