Recalling how "Bones" drew from the exploits of real-life forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs (who is also the author of the Temperance Brennan novel series), "Lie to Me" was based primarily on professor and psychologist Paul Ekman's research in the field of facial expressions and their connection to emotions as it relates to determining whether someone is lying or telling the truth. The show starred Tim Roth as Ekman's sorta-but-not-really avatar, Dr. Cal Lightman, who uses his insights into people's body language and microexpressions to assist various criminal investigations through his private company The Lightman Group. It aired for three seasons from 2009 to 2011, at which point "Bones" was only halfway into its (frankly mind-blowing) 12-season run.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2010 (just as "Bones" was wrapping up its fifth season), Hanson confirmed that his show had come perilously close to pairing Brennan and Booth on a job with Dr. Lightman. "It's one of those fortuitous things. We'll see if the network wants it and has the will for it to make it happen," Hanson explained. That ultimately never happened, as "Lie to Me" saw a large enough drop-off in ratings from season to season to convince Fox to axe it a year later. If anything, though, this crossover might have almost made too much sense to be that entertaining, so far as the shows' respective genres and tones go. If you're going to cross the streams on network television for a ratings bump, then you might as well go for the gusto and bait viewers with something truly memorable.

Read More: https://www.slashfilm.com/1475679/bones-crossover-lie-to-me-never-happened/#