Castle and Bones are two great shows. But they do have an awful lot in common. This slideshow features 20 of the most striking similarities between the two TV shows.
#21 Similarities?
Don’t get me wrong. I love Bones. And I love Castle. They’re both awesome shows.
But are they both awesome because they have so very much in common? When you start to think about it, the similarities between Castle and Bones are many.
And that’s a good thing. Here are 20 of the strongest and best similarities between Bones and Castle.
#20 The Relationships Between the Two Main Characters
It’s the most obvious similarity.
On Bones, a man and a woman from different professions work together to solve crimes. The obvious (but mostly unacknowledged) sexual tension remains a constant factor in their relationship.
On Castle, a man and a woman from different professions work together to solve crimes. The obvious (but mostly unacknowledged) sexual tension remains a constant factor in their relationship.
#19 The Personalities of the Male Leads
Special Agent Seeley Booth is a charming and outgoing man. Rick Castle is also a charming and outgoing man. Both men are exceptionally attractive and have little trouble finding dates or starting relationships. Neither, however, has had much luck with long-term dating. Although their abilities to express it vary greatly, Booth and Castle are both iconoclasts who need to assert their individuality.
#18 The Personalities of the Female Leads
Detective Kate Beckett is a tough, serious cop who is completely dedicated to her job of solving murders. Dr. Temperance Brennan may be a scientist, but she is equally tough and serious. And her first priority is solving crimes. Both women have the reputation of being the best at what they do, although neither is a likely candidate for the job.
#17 An Unlikely Crime-Fighting Pair
It’s not often that you see an FBI agent investigating in the field with a forensic anthropologist. While it’s easy to accept that forensics helps to solve crimes, that happens only in labs and not outside with guns. Except on Bones.
Similarly, writers may interview and even briefly shadow cops for research. But they don’t get to visit every murder scene or hang out daily in the precinct. Except on Castle.
#16 Outsiders See Them as Couples
It’s not a given that a man and a woman, working together, will appear as a couple. But that’s what everyone always thinks on Bones and Castle. From the immediate assumptions of strangers to the sneaking suspicions of co-workers, the whole world sees them as together.
#15 Best-Selling Authors
Temperance Brennan and Rick Castle have each made ridiculous amounts of money from the sales of their crime-fiction novels. In the wider, non-crime fighting world, most people know them primarily for these books.
#14 Books Dedicated to the Partners
Castle and Brennan both derive major inspiration from their respective partners. More than just inspiration, however, the resulting books are specifically dedicated to those partners.
#13 Serial Killers Obsessions
During the second season of Bones, Brennan and Booth had to deal with a serial killer named Howard Epps. Epps became obsessed with Brennan. Unfortunately for all concerned, this obsession triggered a crime spree surrounding the horrified anthropologist.
During the second season of Castle, Castle and Beckett chased down a serial killer obsessed with Nikki Heat. The killer, Scott Dunn blew up Beckett’s apartment and kidnapped an FBI agent during his obsessive quest for the “real” Nikki Heat, Kate Beckett.
#12 The One that Got Away
In the third season episode of Castle, “3XK,” the detectives hunted for a serial killer. Just when they thought they had him, Castle stumbled onto the true criminal, Jerry Tyson. Mutual psychoanalysis (with Castle tied up) occurred before the killer escaped, leaving feelings of guilt and vengeance in his wake.
During the initial Grave Digger case on Bones, Brennan and Hodgins were kidnapped and buried alive. Further attempts to discern the Grave Digger’s identity had to wait for several seasons, with Booth kidnapped in the process.
#11 Relationships Between Secondary Characters
It’s not just the will-they-or-won’t-they main relationships on Castle and Bones. The secondary characters get in on the action as well.
On Bones, Angela and Hodgins dated and got engaged in an on-and-off fashion for several seasons before finally tying the knot in season 5. On Castle, Detective Esposito and Lanie the medical examiner have just kicked off a side-relationship of their own.
#10 Non-Law Enforcement Partner Who Doesn’t Follow Rules
Castle doesn’t do what he’s told. He doesn’t stay in the car, he investigates where he shouldn’t and many of his leads go awry. No wonder the guy needs a “Writer” bulletproof vest.
Similar tension exists between Booth and Brennan. Brennan has often caused problems for Booth by shooting his gun, antagonizing suspects and inflicting bodily harm (always in self-defense, of course).
The paperwork must be ridiculous.
#9 Real Celebrities Integrated into Fictional Worlds
On Bones, Angela’s father is Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame. He doesn’t really play a character. He just plays himself.
Castle integrates the real world via poker games. Three successful and famous (and real) writers regularly play cards with Castle: Stephen J. Cannell, Michael Connelly and James Patterson.
#8 Unusual Coroners
Many crime shows have a coroner character. But how many shows feature a young, African-American woman in that role?
#7 Single Fathers
Both Castle and Booth are devoted fathers to their respective children. And neither man is together with the mother of those kids.
#6 Murdered Mothers
Brennan and Beckett have had the misfortune of losing their mothers to murder. In both cases, that loss helped spur the young women into their chosen professions of solving murders and identifying victims.
#5 Sleeping with the Ex
Even though their relationships with the mothers of their children are over, both Castle and Booth have had brief dalliances with those women.
#4 Female Bosses
Bones and Castle feature strong women in leadership positions: Beckett is the senior homicide detective and Brennan runs the forensic anthropology team. Not only that, but the women get to be in charge of men in male-dominated fields.
#3 On-Screen Relationships Beginning in Interrogation Rooms
The first time we saw Brennan and Booth together was in the interrogation room of an airport. Thanks to Booth’s tip-off, Brennan was stopped by security for transporting human remains.
Similarly, the first interaction between Beckett and Castle was in the homicide interrogation room. The police were investigating crimes explicitly based on Castle’s novels, making the author first a suspect and then a source of information.
#2 “Fictional” Versions Have Physical Relationships, “Real” Versions Do Not
The books written by Brennan and Castle on their respective shows feature characters based on their own lives and relationships. However, both authors chose to include racy and explicit physical relationships not existing in the “real” world.
As Natalie Rhodes put it in the “Nikki Heat” episode of Castle, “It’s literally verbal masturbation.”
#1 The Whedon Connection
Only two men have played the lead role in a Joss Whedon TV show: David Boreanaz played the titular character on Whedon’s Angel, while Nathan Fillion played Captain Malcolm Reynolds on Firefly.
Not only that, but the two actors actually shared a scene during the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fillion’s Caleb (an evil preacher trying to kill Buffy) and Boreanaz’s Angel (Buffy’s good-vampire ex-boyfriend) briefly traded blows before Buffy ended the whole thing by slicing Caleb in half.
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
