S.W.A.T. is going to get at least two more seasons than previously fought, as the show has escaped getting canceled not just once, but twice at this point. The series was recently renewed for Season 8 at CBS despite the prior announcement that Season 7 would be the last season for the series.
Season 7 happening alone was seen as a blessing for fans of the TV show. Initially, S.W.A.T. was axed after Season 6, leading to series star Shemar Moore publicly addressing the decision as a “mistake.” Many fans agreed, letting CBS know as much with their responses on social media. That allowed for a seventh season to be greenlit, which would at least let the characters of the show have a more proper ending. In a new interview with TV Insider, Moore shared how the plan for Season 7 was to come up with a story that concluded the series in a satisfying way, given that they didn’t know another renewal was coming.
“We won this fight,” Moore said. “Let’s go out swinging. Let’s just make 13 incredible episodes. So if it is over, we can feel proud of what we’ve accomplished, but if we do it so well and we just keep that fight alive, maybe at the end of this, we can give them something to think about.”
On S.W.A.T. getting renewed for Season 8, the actor added, “I’m super, super geeked. I’m so excited, so proud, humbled, and I’m still pinching myself because it’s kind of a miracle. It’s business, and you can’t take it personal, but sometimes you do a little bit because you’re so passionate about something.”
Season 8 Wasn’t Expected to Happen Until Almost the Last Minute
Moore shared how he’d heard rumblings about a possible renewal for Season 8, but he wasn’t holding his breath, as there were no concrete offers made until about a week before the renewal. This is a big reason why some characters have been getting written out, with the show already giving send-offs to Street (Alex Russell) and Luca (Kenny Johnson), while Deacon (Jay Harrington) is planning to retire. Moore confirmed that the season was designed to serve as a goodbye for the fans and the characters, but he also teased how the season finale will still leave the door open for the series to continue in a way that makes sense.
“What’s crazy is we’ve had to change nothing—absolutely nothing,” he said. “We wrote this show to where it could be a farewell goodbye. When you get up to the finale, you’ll see when you watch it, you’ll go, oh, this was their way of saying goodbye. But it was also our way of saying we could still keep going. We said, this will either be our goodbye or this will be our new beginning.”