One of the most lovable characters on "Bones" was completely recast towards the show's end – and most fans probably had no idea.
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00:00One of the most lovable characters on Bones was completely recast towards the show's end,
00:05and most fans probably had no idea.
00:08One of the joys of long-running TV shows is their deep roster of guest stars and ever-growing
00:13ensembles.
00:14That was certainly true about Bones, the popular Fox crime procedural about a forensics expert
00:18and FBI agent teaming up to investigate murders using forensic anthropology.
00:23The series ran for 12 seasons, from 2005 to 2017, and picked up a couple of Emmy nominations
00:29along the way.
00:30Like most shows that last that long, what made Bones so appealing was its cast, from
00:35the core characters that fans fell in love with to the longer list of recurring stars
00:39and one-off characters.
00:41Indeed, Bones boasted a revolving rotation where new characters came and went all the
00:45time, especially if they were interns at the Jeffersonian Institute Medico Legal Lab, as
00:50those roles could change nearly every episode.
00:53This helped the Bones universe feel especially lived-in, as if the show's world continued
00:57off-screen rather than everything remaining static in between episodes.
01:01With such a big cast, the series also saw some characters leave permanently, often because
01:06the actors departed to pursue other opportunities.
01:09Other times, however, a character would remain on the show, but the part would get recast.
01:14Recasting is quite common in Hollywood, although sometimes it can be rather jarring for viewers.
01:18But in this case, it was barely noticeable, unless you're the sort of fan who closely
01:22scours the credits of every single episode.
01:25Originally played by Ty Panitz, Parker Booth is the son of lead character Celie Booth and
01:29his ex-girlfriend Rebecca Stinson.
01:31He started out as a little boy, and his storylines were mostly subplots that served to demonstrate
01:36Booth's abilities as a parent and reveal how Parker was growing closer to Temperance
01:40Bones Brennan.
01:41Panitz played the role for most of the series, until he was recast in season 10 with zero
01:46explanation.
01:47What's more, many fans probably didn't even notice that Panitz was replaced with
01:51Gavin McIntosh, as Parker was suddenly aged up to be a college student pursuing writing
01:55at Oxford.
01:57When it comes to recasting, it's arguably easier to replace kid actors than adults,
02:01as they're often not a huge part of the story and only the most eagle-eyed viewers
02:05would catch on.
02:06Not to mention, recasting before kids hit puberty helps create the illusion that they
02:10simply changed as they grew up.
02:16So while this was certainly an understandable and practical decision, the recasting of Parker
02:20unfortunately also came with a big downside.
02:23By the time that McIntosh took over the role, Parker's screentime had been severely diminished.
02:28He appeared in only three episodes from that point on, occasionally seeing his family but
02:32adding even less to the main storyline than he did as a kid.
02:36And unlike much of the rest of the cast of Bones, who have continued their showbiz careers
02:40after the show's end, neither Panitz nor McIntosh have done much, if any, acting since