“Bones” isn’t going anywhere. Fox has renewed the fan-favorite drama for an eighth season.

“Over the past seven seasons, Hart Hanson, Stephen Nathan and the incredible ‘Bones’ cast and crew have redefined the traditional crime procedural with an irreverent and adventurous sensibility and I’m really happy to have this distinctive, fan-favorite on our schedule for another season,” Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at Fox, said in a statement.

The show will celebrate its 150th episode during the upcoming eighth season. Season 8 will see the stars of “Bones” — including David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel — get a raise. TJ Thyne, Michaela Conlin, Tamara Taylor and John Francis Daley also star.

“Bones” returns for more Season 7 episodes on Mon., April 2 at 8 p.m. ET with a new addition. Here’s how Fox describes the next new episode, “The Prisoner in the Pipe.”

The remains of an escaped convict are found in a residential sewer, but an examination of the sewer pipes indicates that the murder occurred within prison walls. When Brennan (Emily Deschanel) insists on solving the crime – despite Booth’s (David Boreanaz) pleas for her not to overexert herself – the expectant couple experience a very untraditional arrival of their baby daughter.

What would a festival celebrating the best of TV be without Bones? Fortunately, Paley Fest 2012 does not make us find out. On Thursday, March 8, the television-celebrating event welcomed the producers (Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan) and cast (Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, John Francis Daley, Michaela Conlin and TJ Thyne) of Bones.

What did they say? Keep reading for all the highlights!

Before the panel began, it would seem that the lucky audience got to see the next Bones episode. Lucky jerks. This may explain why some otherwise spoiler-related things are suddenly known with certainty.

WARNING: Aforementioned Bones spoilers figure prominently in what follows. Proceed with caution.

Here are the important things you need to know about the Bones panel at Paley Fest.

• Places mentioned for Brennan to give birth: stable with a horse, prison.
  Emily Deschanel claims not to have yelled during the birth of her son last fall.
  The birth episode will air on April 2.
  The daughter of Brennan and Booth will be born in a stable (seriously, there’s a horse). They wanted to have the doctor be named Wiseman (to be played by executive producer Stephen Nathan). Then the doctor would bring in two relatives. Thus, the three Wisemans.
  While Brennan actually gives birth in a stable, she goes into labor during a prison riot.
  The baby used in the birth scene peed on both Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz.
• There may be some conflict between Booth and Brennan about whether to baptize the baby or to take her to Africa and drop rock dust on her.
  Hart Hanson knew that Booth and Brennan would have sex after the death of Vincent Nigel-Murray.
  David Boreanaz wore crazy socks to the panel.
  “There’s somebody who’s going to be dead and revolting…” — Stephen Nathan on how Bones will remain the same.
  Moonlighting got mentioned within the first 10 minutes.
  “Instead of sex and boys, it’s breastfeeding and… boobs…” — Michaela Conlin on Angela and Brennan’s future discussions.
  The baby’s first name will be Christine (after Brennan’s mother). The middle name will be Angela.
  The reveal of Angela’s real name will be a major story on a future episode of Bones. They’re not ruling out another tattoo.
  When Sweets used a gun, the bullet was loaded with blanks. In case you didn’t realize that…
  Sweets will be going out with Booth on some more investigations in the future.
  “We’re going to get season 8 and possibly 9…” — Hart Hanson… This is, unfortunately, probably not official. Not yet anyway.
• “In many ways, Bones is FOX’s most successful hour-long, scripted drama.” — Hart Hanson
  At one point, Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz appeared to be comparing wedding rings.
  Season 7: “It will change the course of… certainly season 8.” — Stephen Nathan
  Christopher Pellant (that creepy computer-murderer guy) will be in the season 7 finale.
  No one will admit whether or not someone important will die in the end of the season.
  The four bonus episodes will air after the cliffhanger but won’t have anything to do with the events of the finale.
  On the four bonus episodes: “It’s like four episodes of Fringe in the middle of Bones.” — Stephen Nathan
  Response: “That’s going to help us, Stephen.” — Hart Hanson
  Emily Deschanel thinks that Brennan might possibly be more interested in marriage now.
  David Boreanaz would like to destroy the Jeffersonian lab with a tank when the series ends.
  We will find out the significance of “447″ in the end of Bones. And it will appear again this season, in episode 12. Another incidence was cut out (possibly the baby was born at 4:47).
  “The Suit on the Set”: “We got really jealous of Community and wanted to do a meta show.” — Hart Hanson
  David Boreanaz wanted an explanation for the word, “adorkable.”
  Meta winks in “The Suit on the Set” include using the same Bones sets, redecorated. “It’s as if you got incredibly drunk and watched Bones.” — Stephen Nathan
  The belt-buckle of the actor playing Booth in the movie says “Kooky.”
  One of the “prop” bodies on the movie set is an actual body.
  Michaela Conlin likes the idea of a retrospective at the end of Bones.
  Hart Hanson wants to make a Bones movie when the series ends. He may have been joking.
  Bones will revisit Sweets’ “dark” childhood. But not this season.
  Plots Hart Hanson wants to explore before Bones ends: Hodgins’ brother, Angela’s mother, Booth’s mother…
  David Boreanaz is a very strong proponent of an “old man” episode, whatever that means.
  A reappearance by Zack Addy has not been ruled out. They just need an appropriate storyline to bring him in.
  There are no plans to have Zooey Deschanel reappear on Bones, although they would like to have her.
  John Francis Daley really, really likes The Wire.
  David Boreanaz would like to have been on MASH or Cheers.
  Michaela Conlin picked Absolutely Fabulous.
  “It’s National Lady Day, isn’t it?” — David Boreanaz
  And then he made a joke about American Idol’s ratings slipping…
  Hart Hanson is happy to be paired with House on Monday nights.
  The whole cast pretty much agreed that TJ Thyne was the best at saying all of the technical jargon necessary on Bones. He gave an impressive example of this by saying something scientific that could not possibly be transcribed.
  Max Keenan will be back in Bones season 7, but Russ will not be in the current season.

Perhaps you were excited when you heard that there was going to be a Bones panel at PaleyFest 2012 on March 8. And perhaps you were even more excited when you heard that, not only would it include executive producers Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan, and cast members Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, T.J. Thyne, Michaela Conlin and John Francis Daley, but it was being moderated by TVLine’s own Michael Ausiello. Well, turns out, all of that was just the tip of the iceberg!

You can go for free!

Well, 20 of you can, anyway. TVLine is giving away 10 pairs of tickets to the all-star Q&A in Beverly Hills. To find out how you can become one of Ausiello and TVLine’s very special guests, head over to TVLine’s official Facebook page!

The winners will be announced on March 5. So what are you waiting for? Go! Click! Read! Enter!

The Paley Center for Media is excited to announce the addition of BONES to the lineup of honorees for PaleyFest 2012. The series, now in its seventh season, will be honored at the festival on Thursday, March 8 at 7:00 pm at the Saban Theatre. Tickets will go on sale to members on Wednesday, February 1 at 9:00 am PT and will be on sale to the general public Friday, February 3 at 9:00 am PT.

BONES, a darkly amusing procedural entering its seventh season, is inspired by real-life forensic anthropologist and novelist Kathy Reichs.

DR. TEMPERANCE BRENNAN (Emily Deschanel) is a highly skilled forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and writes novels on the side. When the standard methods of identifying a body are useless (when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed), law enforcement calls on Brennan for her uncanny ability to read clues left behind in the victim’s bones.

While most people can’t handle Brennan’s intelligence, her drive for the truth or the way she flings herself headlong into every investigation, SPECIAL AGENT SEELEY BOOTH (David Boreanaz) of the FBI’s Homicide Investigations Unit is an exception. A former Army sniper, Booth mistrusts science and scientists – the “squints,” as he calls them – who pore over the physical evidence of a crime. But even he cannot deny that the combination of his people-smarts and Brennan’s scientific acumen makes them a formidable duo.

Aside from Booth, Brennan is most comfortable with her equally brilliant colleagues at the Jeffersonian’s Medico-Legal Lab. ANGELA MONTENEGRO (Michaela Conlin), an artist who specializes in reconstructing facial features and crime scenes, is Brennan’s earthy and bawdy best friend. Angela is married to DR. JACK HODGINS (TJ Thyne), affectionately known as “the slime and bug guy,” a conspiracy theorist and expert on insects, spores and minerals. DR. CAMILLE “CAM” SAROYAN (Tamara Taylor), the street-smart and centered coroner, must wrangle all the geniuses under her purview. Lending his professional expertise to Brennan and Booth is DR. LANCE SWEETS (John Francis Daley), a brilliant young FBI psychologist who is equally adept at profiling murderers and providing impromptu therapy to his co-workers.

Read more: http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/Foxs-BONES-to-Be-Honored-at-Paley-Center-for-Media-38-20120126##ixzz1lPnJBtw6

David Boreanaz (Booth) decided to tweet some encouraging light reading today: a missive from the relatively obscure Noob News listing six TV shows whose main characters’ relationships “didn’t kill” the programs. We’ve got some oldies like Friends and Frasier, the ever-popular How I Met Your Mother… and Bones!

Noob News’s Charles B. French breaks the situation down pretty matter-of-factly: namely, the complication of Brennan (Emily Deschanel)’s pregnancy “hasn’t made the show unbearable, just added a new layer to Brennan and Booth.” (In other words: no Moonlighting curse here, folks.) As French puts it, “[i]t’s a shipper’s dream, but at the same time it isn’t dreamily ever after.” So we get our gooey love scenes, but there’s also a powerful dollop of Booth-Brennan conflict. Everyone wins!

… And for the one or two of you out there who can’t stand the Big Relationship… well, Bones “is also an ensemble show, not just about [Booth and Brennan].” We have the unparalleled privilege of being able to zoom out from B&B and focus on the sundry compelling subordinate characters — take Angela (Michaela Conlin)’s and Hodgins (TJ Thyne)’s baby woes, or Cam (Tamara Taylor)’s trials with her post-adolescent adopted daughter, or new squintern Finn (Luke Kleintank)’s struggle to fit in with the Jeffersonian’s generally northeast-type crowd. And all that says nothing of the festering bodies on which we can feast our eyes every week!

See, with Bones, there’s something for everyone. And that’s why Booth and Brennan together didn’t kill the show.

FOX TCA All-Star Party – Jan 8

The Jeffersonian team will meet the most sinister villain in “Bones” history in the winter finale. The episode, which was pushed back from late 2011 to early this year, will introduce Andrew Leeds as Christopher Pellant, whom executive producer Stephen Nathan describes as a “genius hacktivist.”

Affirming that the new baddie may be the toughest one for the team to deal with, Tamara Taylor chimed in, “This guy is, I think, more diabolical than anyone we’ve dealt with before.” The Cam depicter additionally described Pellant as “creepy-scary,” before gushing, “He’s super-smart – maybe smarter than all of us combined – he leaves riddles, and he dismembers bodies and leaves the parts all over D.C.”

Nathan further revealed that Pellant “will fundamentally change the direction of the show by the end of the season, even though he’s not going to reappear that often.” He went more specific with his statement as saying, “Brennan will find herself in a situation she never thought she’d be in – and [Pellant] will be instrumental in that.”

Also talking about the new character, Michaela Conlin who plays Angela gushed that Pellant’s modus operandi is “really gross” that she calls the episode which will mark his debut “is a disturbing episode, for sure.”

The new villain aside, the January 12 episode of “Bones” will see Booth and Brennan finally finding a new house to live with their yet-to-be-born baby. “We’ve been playing that [arc] through these first six [episodes] – where they can live, what they can afford – so we’re setting up and giving them that life,” Nathan teased. “We’re going to go [into the break] knowing what the new threat is, and where they’re go to be living.”

“Bones” will take a hiatus after airing “The Crack in the Code” this Thursday, and return in spring. Recently at TCA winter press tour, FOX president Kevin Reilly hinted the the show’s season 7, which has been ordered for 17 episodes, could get extra episodes if the situation allows so.

“We ordered as many [episodes] as they could produce with Emily [Deschanel]. If they can produce 22 when she comes back, that’s what they’ll make,” Reilly explained.

Credit

“Bones” has been on a mini-winter break for the past month, but after tonight’s new episode (Thursday, Jan. 12), it’ll be gone for several months. (Cue our loud sniffles.)

To tide us over until then, Zap2it spoke with Michaela Conlin (Angela) and Tamara Taylor (Cam) to try to eke out any potential spoilers for the second half of the season. Here’s how we fared:

Taylor promises plenty of intern-related incidents. “We’ve got, of course, more madcap hijinks with the interns. My daughter dates one of the interns, which is a whole crazy thing. We’re shooting that one now,” she spills. “Boyfriend’s coming back, and that’s kind of all I know right now.”

So Cam gets a little romance in her life? “Romance would be really really good. I keep on joking with Hart [Hanson, executive producer] that I want a dark past. Never gonna happen, but it would be really fun to play.”

Conlin wasn’t very forthcoming either, but she did talk in very vague terms about the episode. (Basically, she could be talking about every episode.)

“There’s a serial killer,” she shares. “Someone’s going to solve a crime, and it’s going to be us! I’m going to use some cool [tools], I’m going to make some cool programs! I can’t really tease any more than that. I will say there’s a really gross bone fragment. Okay, that’s totally not a spoiler. That’s every episode. But this one, for me, was particularly gross.”

While we won’t have any new episodes for a while, the cast is back at work shooting after taking a break for star Emily Deschanel’s maternity leave. “It’s been great [back on set],” Conlin says. “It was nice to have a break after seven years of long seasons. Emily’s been wonderful. She’s been back at work like she hasn’t missed a beat.”

As for stuff we’ll see in that second half of the season, Conlin promises some fun Bones/Angela action. “There are some great scenes with Brennan and Angela coming up that will be great,” she tells Zap2it. “Obviously they’re both moms, so there’s been some fun stuff that we’ve gotten to do together.”