Is S.W.A.T. Canceled or Not? Here's What Happened
During the past week, the fate of S.W.A.T. has changed a few times. What were the reasons behind these decisions by CBS — and what really lies ahead for the show?
S.W.A.T.'s fans have just gone for a ride and a half.
On Friday, CBS announced that the show was canceled. On Monday, there were rumors that the decision was being reconsidered.
Later that day, it was announced that S.W.A.T. will get season 7 which will be the final season of the show, concluding all storylines.
What's really going on with this series?
Cancelation
While S.W.A.T. was doing pretty well in terms of demo audience, it still ranked 10th out of CBS' 14 series this season total audience-wise. But these numbers were not the main reason behind the cancelation.
According to the show's executive producer Shawn Ryan, it had "nothing to do with ratings" — the finances were the real issue.
According to Ryan, the TV industry's economics are changing, and the CBS execs didn't find a way to make S.W.A.T. S7 work out financially. On Friday, the show was canceled.
Rumors
On Monday, Deadline received reports that CBS and S.W.A.T.'s executives restarted the negotiations soon after the cancelation announcement was made on Friday.
Reportedly, after receiving a strong backlash from the audience, they were discussing the possibility of saving the show despite their previous statement.
The proposed middle ground was renewing the show for one last season and making it the last. This would've pleased the fans and allowed for a proper end to all the storylines in S.W.A.T.
Renewal
Later on Monday, CBS made an official announcement: S.W.A.T. got a renewal for season 7.
"We have listened to our viewers and <...> reached an agreement to renew it for a final season of 13 episodes to air during the 2023-2024 broadcast year," was said in CBS and Sony's joint statement.
S.W.A.T. will now officially get a proper closure, and the fans will get to see their favorite characters once again.
It's still unknown whether this was made possible at the expense of East New York, another CBS show that is reportedly competing with S.W.A.T. for the same slot in the next season's primetime schedule.
Source: Deadline