Whereas S.W.A.T.‘s May 2024 “series finale” — which was written and filmed before the show got un-cancelled for a second time — tied things up in a neat enough bow, it sounds like the CBS procedural’s next swan song will really leave fans clamoring for more.
Speaking with TVLine on Feb. 26 — a little over a week before S.W.A.T. got cancelled for a third time — Anna Enger Ritch, who plays Officer Zoe Powell, teased the Season 8 finale thusly:
I’ll say this: It will make you not want this show to end. You’ll want to keep watching what happens. There are so many avenues and directions to go, so many stories to tell, so many personal things…. It will leave you wanting so much more.
Anna Enger Ritch
Annie Ilonzeh, who joined the S.W.A.T. cast this season as Officer Devin Gamble, emphatically echoed Ritch’s words during our Zoom call, telling TVLine of the finale:
You go, ‘Oh my gosh, that just happened!’ And, ‘Wait, I need more!’ We definitely don’t button anything up. We leave you guessing and very curious for more.
Annie Ilonzeh
S.W.A.T. is currently filming Episode 20 (of 22), though cast members such as Ritch and Ilonzeh have been apprised of this season’s finale plan, and possibly even saw a script.
Showrunner Andrew Dettmann in turn confirmed for TVLine on Saturday morning, “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. And wanting to go out on a high note either way, we’re not buttoning anything up in a manner that would put an end to 20-Squad.”
CBS first cancelled S.W.A.T. back in May 2023, after six seasons — but less than 72 hours later, the network reversed its decision and renewed the procedural for a seventh, (ahem) final season. Come April 2024, the Eye blinked again, renewing S.W.A.T. for Season 8 midway through what was previously intended as a 13-episode farewell run.
Series front man and executive producer Shemar Moore is hoping that lightning will strike in the same place a third time, posting to Instagram a video in which he invited Netflix (or anyone else, really) to swoop in and pluck the show from the ashes, again. “Trust me, all of us — the family over at S.W.A.T. — we ain’t done chasing bad guys,” he told prospective saviors. “Helicopter chases and motorcycle chases and car chases and blowing up stuff… we ain’t done.”
S.W.A.T. this season is averaging 4.9 million total viewers (with Live+7 delayed playback), down some 20% from its Season 7 audience. Out of the 14 dramas that CBS has aired this TV season, it ranks last in total audience. Notably, S.W.A.T.‘s Season 8 viewership has been down about 22% since it got moved from the Friday lead-off spot to the 10 pm hour that was previously (and for a long, long time) home to the well-watched Blue Bloods.
“It’s heartbreaking news,” showrunner Andrew Dettman said of S.W.A.T.‘s latest cancellation, “primarily because it’s been such an immense pleasure working with this cast and crew to put out a show that we’ve always been proud of. They are truly an extraordinary group of people who have all worked so hard and have been so dedicated for all these eight seasons, overcoming countless challenges. I can’t give them enough credit. I feel so privileged to have been a part of the S.W.A.T. family.”
