For six years, Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) and Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) have been flirting around each other on Fox’s hit crime drama “Bones” with very little reward. Then, finally, at the end of last season, the two had sex, and the season ended with Bones telling Booth that she’s pregnant. One would think that this would thrill “Bones” fans, because who hasn’t been rooting for the crime-fighting duo to get together? Yet, the plotline has split the fandom.

Some say that it’s a cheap and easy ploy to get the two together and that the show jumped the shark. They feel that this pregnancy takes the fun out of their flirtation. That said, the producers and writers seem to feel that this was the best way to deal with Deschanel’s real-life pregnancy. Plus, even if they do get together for a time for the sake of the pregnancy, there is no question that they won’t be able to stay together.

Oh right, there’s also crime. According to one of the executive producers, the main antagonist in this season will be more tech-savvy than the villains in the past seasons. Hopefully this season-arching nemesis will be able to live up to the show’s past storylines.

Of course, with Deschanel’s pregnancy and impending birth, “Bones” has to be creative with their season. After their first episode tonight, the show will air six episodes before the year is out, with the plot starting months after the end of the last season. Then, after its backdoor pilot in the last season of “Bones,” the show’s spinoff “The Finder” will replace its parent midseason. In the spring, “Bones” will come back with the remaining 11 episodes. Whether “The Finder” will be able to live up to and adequately replace its predecessor remains to be seen.

Has “Bones” jumped the shark? Maybe, although the new twist might throw some variety into the tired roundabout romance. Find out Thursday night when the seventh season of “Bones” begins at 8 p.m. on FOX.