Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley) meets his maker in the “Bones” Season 10 premiere, marking a truly shocking TV death for fans of the show. And the worst part? The character might have returned if Daley’s other projects didn’t get in the way.
Sweets was written out of “Bones” at the end of Season 8 so Daley could co-direct “Vacation,” his first directorial feature. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, showrunner Stephen Nathan explained that the storyline plan was to keep Sweets working with inner-city kids until Daley was ready to return. But the “Vacation” shoot got delayed, preventing that from happening and sealing Sweets’ fate.
“The film was pushed and now it would have compromised everything so much — and we didn’t know exactly when he was coming back — it didn’t seem fair to the character or John to marginalize him and write him in and out in a revolving doorway. It didn’t feel right, because the family on the show is so tightly knit.”
Sweets isn’t the only beloved “Bones” character to be killed off throughout the years, but his death was significant due to his core importance to the series at the time. What’s more, Daley was heartbroken by the decision to end Sweets’ run.
John Francis Daley’s reaction to Sweets’ death on Bones
John Francis Daley was devastated when he learned his character was going to die on “Bones.” After playing Lance Sweets for long, he felt like the fictional FBI psychologist was part of his being. At the same time, he understood why Sweets had to be given a dramatic and conclusive send-off.
“I knew it would be tough, because I was asking for four months off,” Daley told TVLine in 2014 interview. “And I was so happy that they were able to accommodate that. But, yeah, in a perfect world, I would’ve loved to have [completed the movie] and then segue back to the Bones family.”
Daley added that a conversation with Stephen Nathan revealed that the fans would find this type of goodbye more satisfying than having Sweets pop in and out of the story. Furthermore, Daley always dreamed of becoming a director, so he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to helm a movie like “Vacation,” even if it meant missing out on a return to “Bones.” The rest is, as they say, history. For longtime “Bones” fans curious to learn more about the Fox series, be sure to check out the show’s original (and way less interesting) title and why “The Finder” spinoff was canceled.