CBS has saved one of its primetime procedurals for a second time. Deadline reports the previously canceled S.W.A.T. will carry on with an eighth-season renewal. Earlier this week, the network announced the show’s finale air date along with family dramedy Young Sheldon and the sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola.
According to Deadline, the renewal comes a year after the Shemar Moore-led series received an additional season. Originally, CBS had sought a license fee reduction with the show’s production company, Sony TV. When an agreement was not reached, CBS opted to increase the fee but decreased the number of episodes; 13 rounded out the seventh season. It is reported the next season will consist of a full order with 22 episodes.
The renewal seems to be a product of the show’s continued success with viewers. Deadline states the show has strong ratings on both linear and streaming, seating it at 17 among the top 20 primetime broadcast dramas with 6.1 million viewers via Nielsen data. Overall, with the addition of Live+35-day multi-platform viewing, each episode tallies 8.8 million views, which is an annual increase of 11 percent.
Moore (The Young and the Restless, The Brothers), who also serves as an executive producer, issued this statement in reaction to the news via Deadline: “S.W.A.T. IS BACK! BELIEVE IN MIRACLES! I am so proud of this show and the people and variables it has taken to make this show what it is and has become. I am so grateful to the fans around the world who have supported, watched, enjoyed and rooted for S.W.A.T.! It is entirely because of this support that S.W.A.T. will continue to shine! This is still a dream job for me … I love my S.W.A.T. crew, cast and writers and producers – we have made an incredible, fun, exciting, provocative and heartwarming show for the world to enjoy. Thank you to CBS and SONY for believing in S.W.A.T. and giving us this opportunity to shine!”
Other names in the cast include Rochelle Aytes (White Chicks, Mistresses), Patrick St. Esprit (Killing Reagan, The Last of Robin Hood), Jay Harrington (Better Off Ted, Benched), David Lim (Quantico, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and Anna Enger Ritch (Endless Love, The Choice). Additional executive producers are Andrew Dettmann (Numbers, Wisdom of the Crowd), Billy Gierhart (The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy), Marney Hochman (Timeless, Last Resort), Justin Lin (Fast X, Stakehorse), Neal H. Moritz (Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious), Shawn Ryan (The Shield, The Night Agent), and Pavun Shetty (The Boys, Gen V).
S.W.A.T. joins a hefty renewal club over at CBS including the FBI franchise, freshman series Tracker, Fire Country, and comedies So Help Me Todd, Ghosts, and The Neighborhood.