CBS reverses S.W.A.T. cancellation and moves ahead with season 7
CBS is coming to the S.W.A.T. team's rescue.
Days after canceling the popular police procedural, the network reversed the decision and granted the show a seventh and final season.
"We have listened to our viewers and their outpouring of passion for S.W.A.T. and we have reached an agreement to renew it for a final season of 13 episodes to air during the 2023-2024 broadcast year," CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach and Sony Pictures Television Studios president Katherine Pope said in a joint statement Monday. "S.W.A.T. has aired for six seasons on CBS and garnered a devoted following. 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."
They added, "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."
CBS Shemar Moore as Sgt. Daniel 'Hondo' Harrelson, Jay Harrington as David 'Deacon' Kay, and Brigitte Kali Canales as Alexis Cabrera on 'S.W.A.T.'
EW confirmed Friday that CBS had axed the show, which for six seasons has followed Shemar Moore's Sgt. Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, a Los Angeles S.W.A.T. lieutenant forced to balance loyalty to his job and to the streets where he grew up.
The news came as a surprise to fans of the show, given that its viewership had spiked since its fifth season. Moore also shared his shock in an emotional Instagram post shortly after the cancellation news broke, calling out the network for ending its "most diverse" series and encouraging fans to "make some f---ing noise and let 'em know that canceling S.W.A.T. is a f---ing mistake."
"S.W.A.T. got canceled. It makes no sense," he said in the video. "Read the articles: We are the best show on Friday nights at 8 o'clock for CBS. The last two years, we have been killing it. Us and the fire show [Fire Country] that comes on right after us, and respect to those brothers and sisters. Respect to them. We've done nothing wrong. We did everything that was asked for."
He added that "a lot of politics" were likely involved in CBS' decision, and said, "It's all about money, y'all."
But Moore remained hopeful that the series would "live to see another day."
"I don't think we're done," he said. "CBS is either going to wake up and realize they made a mistakeā¦ Sony is going to do their math and realize that this is not the right move. I hope we can have a kumbaya and come back together and continue this show because it's a good time for families across the world."
After the uncancellation was announced Monday, Moore celebrated the news on his Instagram story, writing, "We did it SWAT fam!!" CBS also announced that Moore will be an executive producer for the seventh season.
A reboot of the 1975 cop show of the same name, S.W.A.T. also stars Alex Russell, Jay Harrington, Kenny Johnson, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit, and Rochelle Aytes. It is developed by Shawn Ryan and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas and executive-produced by Ryan with Andy Dettman, Justin Lin, Neal Moritz, Marney Hochman, Pavun Shetty, Billy Gierhart, and Paul Bernard.
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