In a 2015 discussion with the press, “Bones” executive producer Michael Peterson spoke about how the television series occasionally mirrored true events. One such instance of life imitating art—or vice versa—was the premise of the Season 9 episode titled “The Mystery in the Meat,” involving a food scientist who was gruesomely processed and served in a school cafeteria.
“We … have the bad habit that when we write something, then it actually does happen in real life. There’s one episode where a person was canned, and then shortly after writing it somebody died — I think it was at the Bumble Bee tuna factory — and was canned.”
Although Peterson was making a connection between fiction and reality, he was not entirely accurate on the timing. The real-life tragedy transpired at Bumble Bee Foods’ facility in Santa Fe Springs, California, where a worker lost his life after being cooked in an oven along with a large quantity of tuna, leading to a substantial settlement in 2015.
The startling coincidence is that the industrial accident took place in October 2012, whereas “The Mystery in the Meat” episode did not air until a year later. It is possible that the incident at Bumble Bee Foods had come to the attention of the show’s writers and consequently inspired the episode. Regardless, such a dark and bizarre concept might have been shocking even to the show’s recurring villain, Christopher Pelant.
FAQs about the Bones Episode and Real-world Incident
- Did Bones accurately predict a real-life event?
While the episode in question eerily mirrored a real-life event, it did not predict it. The tragic accident at Bumble Bee Foods happened in 2012, one year before the episode aired. - What was the episode of Bones about?
The Season 9 episode, “The Mystery in the Meat,” featured a plot where a food scientist is murdered and his body is processed and served in a school cafeteria. - How did Bumble Bee Foods respond to the real-life tragedy?
Bumble Bee Foods faced legal action and agreed to a $6 million settlement after the industrial accident where a worker was cooked to death in 2012.
Conclusion
The uncanny resemblance between the storyline of a “Bones” episode and the horrific accident at the Bumble Bee Foods processing plant raises questions about the intersection of life and fictional narratives. While “Bones” did not predict the future, the show’s narrative touching on such a grim reality speaks to the sometimes inadvertent foresight within creative processes. This episode serves as a reminder of the unpredictability and tragedies of real-life and gives viewers a startling example of art reflecting life in the most unexpected ways.