SWAT Cancelled After 6 Seasons By CBS
Every year, as the cancellations roll in before the US networks hit their Upfront Presentations in May, there is always one show cancellation which causes the biggest outcry from fans, and I rather suspect this one takes that award for 2023… CBS has cancelled ‘SWAT‘ after 6 Seasons.
Inspired by the television series and the feature film, ‘S.W.A.T.’ stars Shemar Moore as a former Marine and locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant, tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles. Torn between loyalty to where he was raised and allegiance to his brothers in blue, Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson strives to bridge the divide between his two worlds. The series also starred Alex Russell (Jim Street), Kenny Johnson (Dominique Luca), Jay Harrington (David Kay), David Lim (Victor Tan), Patrick St. Esprit (Robert Hicks), and Rochelle Aytes (Nichelle Carmichael).
The problem for ‘SWAT’ was not ratings, which had been extremely solid, but money. Six seasons in, the show is expensive to make and is also a co-production between Sony Pictures TV and CBS Studios. That means Sony and CBS had to come to a deal over exactly how big a piece of the money pie each studio got. After some lengthy negotiations, the studios just could not find a way to cut that pie which worked for both parties. They looked at altering the license fee, cutting the episode numbers, and various other options, but nothing made the numbers stack up in a way which would keep the series on-air.
CBS was also responsible for last year’s shock cancellation, ‘Magnum PI’. That show was eventually saved by NBC, who co-produced it, by moving it across to their own network. The problem with ‘SWAT’ is that Sony does not have its own major network, meaning there is nowhere else to move it, and moving it to another third-party network would likely not be financially feasible. Unfortunately, it looks like the current sixth season will be the last deployment for ‘SWAT’.
“For six seasons, the amazing talents of the S.W.A.T. cast led by Shemar Moore, the writers, producers and crew guided by executive producers Shawn Ryan, Andy Dettman and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas brought us compelling, action-packed episodes that also addressed important social issues and contributed to the success of our primetime lineup,” said CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach. “We sincerely thank them for their incredible work and passion and also thank our dedicated fans who tuned in every week.”
‘SWAT‘ Season 6 is currently airing Sky Max in UK and CBS in the USA.
