'S.W.A.T.' renewed after 'outpouring of passion,' Mayim Bialik's 'Call Me Kat' not returning
"S.W.A.T.," a CBS drama series starring Shemar Moore, has been renewed for a final season days after the network announced it would not return with new episodes.
The news that CBS would not bring back "S.W.A.T." came the same day Fox announced the sitcom "Call Me Kat" starring Mayim Bialik would also not return for a new season. CBS also announced Monday that "East New York" and "True Lies" will not be returning for new seasons, with their final episodes airing May 14 and 17 respectively.
CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach reversed course on "S.W.A.T." Monday sharing in a joint statement with Sony Pictures Television Studios President Katherine Pope that "S.W.A.T." will return for a final season of 13 episodes airing across 2023 and 2024 after viewers expressed an "outpouring of passion" for the show.
"We are pleased that we found a way to bring it back and give closure to the show’s storylines and characters, which audiences deserve," the statement continued. "Once again, we appreciate the talents and efforts of the cast, writers, producers and crew and everyone who has contributed to the success of S.W.A.T. We look forward to its return next season.”
More: Is your favorite network TV show renewed, canceled or ‘on the bubble’? Our 2023 status report
"S.W.A.T." ranked fourth of 21 TV shows in USA TODAY's 26th annual Save Our Shows poll. The results of the poll, in which readers weighed in on which shows they'd like saved ? and which dropped – as the networks set their 2023-24 schedules, came out Thursday.
More: Save Our Shows 2023: See how your TV favorites fared in USA TODAY's exclusive poll
Currently in its sixth season, "S.W.A.T." stars Moore, Alex Russell, Kenny Johnson, Jay Harrington, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit and Lina Esco, was initially set to end May 19.
“For six seasons, the amazing talents of the S.W.A.T. cast led by Shemar Moore, the writers, producers and crew guided by Executive Producers Shawn Ryan, Andy Dettman and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas brought us compelling, action packed episodes that also addressed important social issues and contributed to the success of our primetime line up,” Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a prior statement Thursday. “We sincerely thank them for their incredible work and passion and also thank our dedicated fans who tuned in every week.”
'Call Me Kat' sitcom starring Mayim Bialik will not return
Fox Entertainment said in a statement Thursday: "We are very proud of CALL ME KAT. But, unfortunately, the audience response to it was not as strong as we had hoped. We are thankful for our partnership with Warner Bros. Television, That’s Wonderful Productions, Sad Clown Productions, BBC Studios, Mayim Bialik, Jim Parsons and the entire cast and crew for their work and dedication to CALL ME KAT."
The sitcom, which premiered in 2021 and ran for three seasons, saw Bialik star as Kat, a 39-year-old woman who runs a cat-themed cafe. The series also starred Swoosie Kurtz, Kyla Pratt, Cheyenne Jackson, Julian Grant and Leslie Jordan, who died at age 67 from sudden cardiac dysfunction in October.
Jordan had taped eight of 22 episodes planned for the third season of "Kat" and was working on the ninth at the time of his death. His final episode aired Dec. 1.
The cast of "Kat" honored Jordan in an episode that aired Jan. 5.
More: Mayim Bialik on 'unusual' way 'Call Me Kat' honors Leslie Jordan: 'We loved this man'
“What we’ve done here is we’ve given Phil a happy ending,” Bialik said directly to the audience during the episode, in which the characters of "Kat" learned Phil (Jordan) and Jalen (John Griffin) decided to make their Tahitian vacation a permanent move by getting married and buying a bakery in the South Pacific Ocean oasis. “What we’re really doing is mourning the loss of our dear friend Leslie Jordan. He is irreplaceable. We will miss him very much.”
Bialik, who formerly starred on the sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," also currently hosts "Jeopardy!" along with Ken Jennings.
More: Save Our Shows 2023: See how your TV favorites fared in USA TODAY's exclusive poll
Contributing: Erin Jensen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CBS's 'S.W.A.T.' renewed, FOX's 'Call Me Kat' not returning
