The S.W.A.T. team is currently filming No. episode 20 of 22 for its eighth and final season. January 31 marked the show’s winter return and at that time, the series’ executive producer Shawn Ryan said, “It’s been called the final season for the last three or four seasons, hasn’t it?” In January, CBS did not market the eighth season as the last for S.W.A.T.
Showrunner Andrew Dettmann told TVLine in a new interview that the upcoming series finale was planned for ahead of time. “Having learned our lesson over the last couple of years, we designed the season finale keeping in mind that it could be the series finale,” Dettmann said. “And wanting to go out on a high note either way, we’re not buttoning up anything in a manner that would put an end to 20-Squad,” he added.
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The Series Was Canceled Twice Before
S.W.A.T. was canceled for the first time back in May of 2023, after its sixth season. At that time, S.W.A.T. was the 10th highest-rated drama on CBS overall. It was again canceled in 2024, but CBS ended up renewing the series just a few days later. In May 2024, CBS picked up the cop show for an eighth season, which will end up being its last.
Shemar Moore Pleads his Case for S.W.A.T.
The show’s star, Shemar Moore, who plays Sergeant Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, took to Instagram after the show was given the axe. He posted a video to the social media site saying, “We are canceled again…it sucks. I don’t think they’re making the right choice, I’ll say that. But, if you are done, I say thank you, genuinely, honestly…If you change your mind, I promise you will make a lot of people smile,” he said in the video.
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Moore to Netflix: “We’d Love to Come Play”
Moore then went on to pitch the idea of a popular streaming service picking up S.W.A.T. “Hey Netflix, how you doing? Let me just remind you that in a very short period of time, once upon a time ago, not too long ago, it only took us about two weeks to go from number 15, to number 12, to number one. I said it! And then we stayed in your top 10, top 15 for about six months, nine months, maybe a year. So, Netflix, if you’re interested in a show that is on autopilot that the world is watching, we’d love to come play… NBC, Fox, ABC, hey, you want to come flirt with me? You’re invited to the barbecue. Pick your favorite restaurant. I will pay the bill.”
For now, S.W.A.T. is still airing new episodes, with the next one dropping on CBS on March 14. Seasons 1 through 7 are streaming on Netflix. Season 8 is streaming on Paramount+.
