Sometimes canceled series are taken over by other broadcasters or streaming services, sometimes the program bosses change their minds themselves. The latter happened with SWAT – twice. After the 6th season, the action series was actually no longer supposed to be continuedbut then there was a final 7th season, which wasn’t the end after all. Season 8 of the hit series is currently running.
Lead actor Shemar Moore in particular will agree with this, knowing his disappointment and indignation at the initial cancellation.
Shemar Moore directly criticized CBS for the wrong decision
When SWAT was first called off, Shemar Moore was devastated. In a reel on Instagram in 2023, the actor shared his frustration with the decision. It didn’t make sense to him. At least SWAT would have been part of the series at this point one of the highest ratings. But even aside from that, Moore had a strong argument against the removal:
SWAT is the one most diverse show on CBS. When I was cast as Hondo on SWAT, CBS was still being criticized for its lack of diversity.
Starting with the main actor Shemar Moore himself, SWAT has a very diverse cast and has strived to ensure that from the beginning Challenges and living environments of people of color in the USA. Using Moore’s character Hondo, the series also negotiates very intensively how black police officers can position themselves. Canceling the series despite strong ratings seems inappropriate given the political climate surrounding racism within the US police force.
In his video, Moore spoke about the lack of representation of people of color in leading roles:
I’m the only African-American male lead on network television right now.
Everyone should understand that Shemar Moore’s dismissal is personal because it is his only representation in a leading role on cable television in the USA. In addition, SWAT producer Aaron Rahsaan Thomas would also try to fill the directing and script positions with people of color, the LA Times wrote at the start of the series in 2017. All of this would be lost if it were canceled.
Added to this was how abruptly the news of the cancellation was announced. According to Moore, the decision was made without the series being able to say a proper goodbye. Moore would have thought it was there would at least be one final seasonin which the series comes to a proper end – or just continues. Moore writes:
Canceling SWAT is a damn mistake.
Here you can Watch Moore’s video:
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SWAT has now been running for 8 years. How long the action series will last and whether it might even reach the magical 10th season remains to be seen. So far, season 9 has not been officially ordered.
Where can I stream SWAT?
The 8th season of SWAT is currently running on Sky in Germany, with the new episodes being streamed weekly after they are broadcast on WOW. The 6th season of the action series recently came to Netflix.