SEAL TEAM ended its run on Paramount+ this weekend, marking the show’s end with the Season 7 finale, but the road to success wasn’t easy.
In May 2017, at CBS’s annual welcome party, SEAL TEAM productions weren’t as happy as other guests, despite their new show being chosen from hundreds of competing scripts.
“The reason was CBS executives’ efforts to replace the female lead opposite David Boreanaz in the first episode, Jessica Paré. There was a red flag for the quick turnaround at the network’s welcome presentation at Carnegie Hall earlier that afternoon when the SEAL TEAM cast took the stage without Paré,” Deadline reported. “The absence spoke volumes because it was a rite of passage on air—if your first episode was picked up, you were on the offensive—unless you got the call that you were being recast.”
“There was no official word at the time, but the SEAL TEAM producers were nervous—it was rumored that then-CBS CEO Les Moonves himself had suggested replacing Paré. A former actor himself, Moonves was still closely involved in casting decisions and had a say in everything, deciding the fate of shows and actors. (Moonves resigned in the fall of 2018 after a series of sexual misconduct allegations.)” The SEAL TEAM creative and production team, including lead actor/executive producer Boreanaz, begged Paré to stay on the show. Their pleas were successful for the first three seasons until her character left the unit in the Season 4 premiere. She then appeared on the show, but sporadically.
“A few months after Pare left, SEAL TEAM faced another challenge in May 2021: they were forced to leave CBS to make room for the crime series NCIS: HAWAI’I, CSI: HAWAI’I, and FBI: INTERNATIONAL, as well as the medical drama GOOD SAM. Ironically, SEAL TEAM has outlived three of the four series, with NCIS: HAWAI’I and CSI: VEGAS being canceled earlier this year to make way for another NCIS spinoff, NCIS: ORIGINS, among other new shows,” Deadline reported.
“While NCIS: HAWAI’I and CSI: HAWAI’I had no choice, SEAL TEAM moved to Paramount+ after four seasons on CBS. Unsurprisingly, few broadcast series have been able to do so successfully, as it is not an easy transition, requiring major adjustments to the business framework, including budgets and salaries, as well as production logistics.”
The show continued for three more seasons on Paramount+ and was scheduled to conclude with six seasons.
But “SEAL TEAM’s 2021 broadcast farewell was not permanent: Two years later, the series was called back, with episodes from its original Paramount+ run used as new airing fare in the fall of 2023 when film and TV productions were delayed by strikes in Hollywood.”
“With a loyal fan base and widespread support from veterans, SEAL TEAM ran for seven seasons, a respectable lifespan in this day and age, despite its high cost and limited international sales potential due to its focus on the U.S. military versus more translatable crime, medical, and legal genres.”
Deadline touted the show as a rare success as the highest-rated CBS series to leave the platform in 2021. On Paramount+, the show earned the title of the platform’s most-watched original series that year.
“Fittingly, SEAL TEAM hit another milestone before its end, finally breaking into Nielsen’s streaming originals top 10 in August with its two-episode Season 7 premiere,” Deadline reported.
The show also received two Emmy nominations, one for outstanding stunts and one for outstanding music composition.
“SEAL TEAM has also brought Max Thieriot into the CBS/CBS Studios fold,” Deadline added. “An original cast member of the show, he pitched the studio a firefighter drama based on his experiences growing up in Occidental, CA. That show became a hit for CBS. FIRE COUNTRY, which Thieriot co-created, produced, and starred, has become the network’s newest series; a sequel, SHERIFF COUNTRY, starring Morena Baccarin, is slated for 2025-26, and a spinoff, starring Jared Padalecki, is in the works.”
After a bumpy but successful run, SEAL TEAM is finally coming to an end.
Movieguide® previously reported on Season 7: SEAL TEAM Season 6 ends with Jason Hayes revealing his struggles with trauma; Heading into the show’s final season, the creators are focusing on that storyline and how it impacts the future of
