Fans of CBS’ Friday evening drama series S.W.A.T. have been put through the wringer over the last year.
The popular Shemar Moore drama was canceled after six seasons last year, leaving its devoted fans on multiple cliffhangers.
Thankfully, the fans didn’t accept defeat and made their voices heard, triggering CBS to pick up the show for a seventh and final season.
Now that we’re fast approaching those final episodes, Moore is speaking out about the show not being as dead as we’ve been led to believe.
In a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Criminal Minds alum shared that although he knows it’s being promoted as the last hurrah, he’s “an optimist.”
Ending any successful show is arduous, but it sounds like the series will leave some threads dangling in the hopes it will score a last-minute reprieve.
S.W.A.T. Season 7 could end without much of a conclusion
It could signal we’re in for an ambiguous ending, which isn’t a bad thing. Some shows spend so much time forcing a conclusion that it doesn’t land as well as expected.
With characters like Hondo putting their lives on the line daily, much of what they do on a daily basis doesn’t change, so our best guess is that characters will reach big moments, but there will be the potential for a comeback down the line.
CBS famously canceled Criminal Minds after 15 seasons, only to shift it to Paramount+ for a revival series.
That performed well enough to score a second season on the streaming platform, signaling a desire for broadcast procedurals in that space.
The door is open for S.W.A.T. to return for Season 8
The good news for fans is that the actor knows the door is not yet wholly closed on bringing the series back.
If this does turn out to be the end for S.W.A.T., Moore has nothing but gratitude, saying that he believes the show is unique because it’s like “watching an action movie but on TV.”
For CBS to consider keeping the show alive, the numbers would have to improve because longer-running shows come in at higher price tags, which helps explain the cancellations of Blue Bloods, Bob Hearts Abishola, and Young Sheldon.
The TV industry is changing as viewership continues to tumble on the broadcast networks across the board, so the ad market is getting trickier by the year.
S.W.A.T. Season 7 is set to premiere Friday, February 16, at 8 /7c on CBS.