"Bones" may have been off the air for a few years, but that doesn't mean its fans are any less loyal. Thanks in no small part to constant reruns on cable and viewers discovering the show on streaming, it remains wildly popular. The series mainly focuses on Temperance "Bones" Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seely Booth (David Boreanaz), who work together to solve murders. "Bones" aired on Fox and was filmed mostly in Los Angelesalthough it technically takes place in Washington

Ultimately, "Bones" ran for a whopping 12 seasons, ending its run in 2017. So when the season 10 finale of "Bones" aired, viewers were still left with two seasons' worth of adventures with Brennan and Booth. However, at the time, the show's creators had to treat the season 10 finale as if it were the series finale. He spoke with executive producer Steven Nathan TV guide in 2015 and broke down what happened. For starters, the Bones season 10 finale fanfare was not the episode the show's creatives had originally planned. So why did they have to change course? As Nathan explained:

"We actually planned a completely different end to the season, one of a much more traditional cliffhanger and a situation that would take us into Season 11. But the pickup, which we always expected, didn't come for a lot of reasons that were beyond our control."

For what it's worth, "Bones" was a show that was often on the bubble and could end several times during its run, so this wasn't exactly unfamiliar territory for its creators. That said, when the recovery came from the network, it was too late to change course once again. As such, the Season 10 finale had to move forward as written. Nathan added that the show's creatives won't risk disappointing fans further, explaining:

"That's when we were told, 'This could be the showrunner,' we realized we couldn't disappoint or throw away the audience and fans who have been so important to us for a decade (...) and compromise on an episode." It could probably be the last episode ever.

The season 10 finale, titled "The Next in the Last", first aired in June 2015. In the episode, the Jeffersonian team discovers the remains of a victim at a crime scene that points to a possible protégé of a serial killer Christopher Pelant aka Hacktivist, a villain who terrified Deschanel. This then forces them to revisit their previous work on Pelant as they investigate new clues that will hopefully lead them to the copycat killer. Meanwhile, Brennan and Booth are considering options outside of the Jeffersonian and the FBI, which is the thread that makes this episode feel like a finale.

The show's tenth season was, in fact, significant for other reasons as well. For one, The tenth season of "Bones" featured the death of John Francis Daly's Sweets. This was also the point where Bones aired for a decade. It is difficult to maintain a certain level of quality for so long. To that end, Nathan elaborated on why this episode may have served as a fitting end to the series, even though it wasn't the way things shook out:

"We all talk about endings and you get a certain kind of finality, but in life there is only one ending that is final, and that is death. Besides, it's just a change. What Brennan has always said is, “There is no such thing as closure. Everyone wants to wrap something up in a nice neat ribbon and say, "Okay, that's done, now it's about to begin." "Life doesn't work that way, and Booth and Brennan pretty much proved that."

"Bones" is now streaming on Hulu, or you can buy the complete series on DVD from Amazon.