When is 'Bones' Returning from Hiatus?

Update 2/9/12: 'Bones' will be be airing all new episodes on April 5th at 9/8C.

Update 2/27/12: FOX has revised its Spring schedule, and 'Bones' is moving to Mondays! The season now returns on Monday, April 2nd at 8 pm.

People keep messaging me, asking me to tell them when new episodes of 'Bones' (Season 7!) are going to air. I have no affiliation with FOX, so the short answer is: I have no idea. That being said, I do know a couple of things:

Yes, this season will be short, but there are going to be a minimum of 17 episodes. Only 13 are officially scheduled, meaning the season may drag into the summer, or (if renewed for an 8th season) return earlier than normal in the fall. They're still filming now*, so if things go incredibly, remarkably smoothly there's even a possibility that there might even be more than 17. But...let's say there will be 17. Six episodes have aired, which means that we are not even half way through the season, and there are (hopefully!) 11 more episodes to look forward to.

The network hasn't officially set a release date for episode seven yet, but actors/producers etc. have alluded to the fact that the show will be returning in the spring.

When 'Bones' finally does return, we'll be watching the seventh episode of the seventh season (there is a kind of eloquence about that), entitled "The Prisoner in the Pipe". According to various internet sites, baby Booth/Bones will be born during the episode! And Brennan will go into labor in a prison!

While you're waiting for 'Bones' to come back, if you're looking for shows in a similar vein to watch, you might want to try 'Castle'. Several die-hard 'Bones' fans are pushing people to watch 'The Finder' (created by Hart Hanson, the man behind 'Bones'). While 'The Finder' is a completely decent show, and needs more viewers in order to be signed for a full season, its tone is not at all similar to that of 'Bones'. In fact, the only similarities I can see are the occasional character cross-overs (John Francis Daley guest-starred in the show's second episode).

I will update this post as more information becomes available from FOX, the producers, and the rest of the cast and crew.

*I'm not entirely sure what episode they're working on now, but they've finished through episode 10.