In a 2006 interview with TV Guide, “Bones” creator Hart Hanson addressed Adams’ departure. As he told it, it wasn’t a problem with the actor (“We loved Jonathan and his performance”), but the character. As Hanson put it, the “Bones” writers were “prying [Goodman] into stories.” By the end of season 1, they threw in the towel and decided to just write him out. Hanson added:
“When I started the series, I thought it would be more lab-centric and that [Bones’] boss, as an administrator, would have a larger role to play. And it just didn’t work that way. David and Emily took off and we were underutilizing this wonderful actor.”
“Bones” evolved from a lab drama to a police procedural because the audience loved the “Moonlighting”-esque dynamic between Bones and Booth. In the interview, Hanson stressed that Adams/Goodman was “not gone for good” and he hoped to bring him back. Hanson added that the Institute administrator getting involved in all the cases would be like, “having the President hanging around the Capitol.” However, “Bones” would run for 11 more years without him returning. It’s been reported that new character Dr. Camille Saroyan (Tamara Taylor) fit the show much better, so there was even less incentive to bring back Goodman.
Don’t worry about Adams, though, he’s worked consistently since and enjoyed a career second act as a voice actor — that’s what I know him from. His roles include Kang the Conqueror in “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” and Vaatu in “The Legend of Korra.” His deep, commanding voice rivals voice actors like Keith David or Steve Blum, so it’s not surprising that he often voices powerful villains.