(Patrick McElhenney / FOX)

It’s time to bid farewell to Bones. Recently, creator Hart Hanson spoke with TVInsider about the end of the FOX series.

The long-running crime drama ends its 12th and final season tonight, March 28th, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The cast includes David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, Tamara Taylor, TJ Thyne, and John Boyd.

In the interview, Hanson said he didn’t want to go to set during the last days of shooting because it was too emotional:

The other thing is I didn’t want to because it’s painful. It’s very painful to walk away from a show. My best friend ran it after I did, but I imagine it would be like trying to stalk an old girlfriend who had broken your heart on Facebook. It’s painful, and a complicated set of emotions. So I went on the last night we were shooting on the set. You saw what it looked like, which was its own thing. That brought tears to my eyes. I knew it was going to happen, but Jesus, they did a good job.”

Later, he added he’s very grateful Bones lasted as long as it did on FOX:

There were even network heads who didn’t want to talk about us…they didn’t love Bones. Our vindication is just surviving this long. It’s a lot like life; if you live long enough, they just start to like you. It’s really gratifying that what we set out to do we did: entertain people and repay the loyalty of the audience by sticking around. That was why it was so hard for any of us to be angry or upset when it was announced the 12th season would be our last. I think all of us are very grateful to be able to take out the show the way we wanted. In the end, we were respected by our network, which was a lovely thing to experience.”

What do you think? Are you a fan of Bones? Are you sad to see the show ending?