CBS Uncancels 'S.W.A.T.' For A Seventh And Final Season
Indeed, the numbers got crunched, but it came at a cost.
Getting loud works. CBS has reversed its rash decision to cancel long-running procedural drama S.W.A.T., renewing the series for a seventh season that will be its last. The renewal comes three days after the initial decision.
Amy Reisenbach, President of CBS Entertainment and Katherine Pope, President of Sony Pictures Television Studios (the studio that produces S.W.A.T.) made a joint statement that said they had listened to the viewers and their "outpouring of passion" for the series, which spurred the agreement for a final season of 13 episodes which will air next season. The statement continued "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. 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.”.
The cancellation news came down on Friday, in the face of the series actually gaining in total viewers year-to-year. Season 6 has been averaging 6.8 million total viewers and a 0.7 demo rating. The conflict was reportedly this: Sony was not willing to take another S.W.A.T. renewal at a flat license fee as that would undercut the show’s financial model. CBS eventually went up on the license fee but the offer came with a cut of the order, which would’ve pushed up the per-episode budget even higher and further hurt the show’s economics. Series star Shemar Moore, who had also been made executive producer this season, as is common for leads when a series runs long enough, was absolutely furious. But he was right it as about the money.
When Deadline's rumblings about the reversal started, they brought up that it looked like S.W.A.T. and freshman drama East New York, which was having its own negotiation issues between the network and Warner Bros. TV, were competing for one spot. And it seems that came to pass, as when S.W.A.T. was announced renewed, East New York was announced to be canceled, along with the True Lies series adaptation from 20th Century Television, also over after one season. S.W.A.T., based on both the 1975 two-season series and 2003 film, stars Moore, Alex Russell, Kenny Johnson, Jay Harrington, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit and Rochelle Aytes.
Being a CBS show, Paramount+ has in-season rights and thus only streams the current sixth season, the entirety up to this point. In the US, Hulu currently has the first three seasons, which meant, as of September, when season 5 shifted off of Paramount+ as the no-longer-current season, it joined season 4 in being completely unavailable. That is supposedly going to change this month, as according to series creator Shawn Ryan, the first five seasons will be headed to Netflix, where his new show The Night Agent airs. Season 6 will arrive there in the fall, when it's no longer the in-progress season. Its finale, now no longer the series finale, is still scheduled to air on May 19, and be on Paramount+ soon after until fall comes.
