It seems CBS is doing some early spring cleaning much to the disappointment and shock of fans. Days after canceling both FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, CBS has canceled SWAT… once again. As first reported by TVLine, CBS has decided not to renew SWAT for a ninth season and will bring the show to an official end with its current eight season.
This marks the third – and seemingly final – time CBS has canceled SWAT. The show was first canceled back in May 2023 when CBS announced it would not be bringing the show back for a seventh season. After fan backlash, CBS reversed its decision and renewed the show for what was intended to be a seventh and final season. Fast forward to April 2024, CBS surprised fans again when it announced it was canceling the show and renewing SWAT for an eighth season which has been airing as part of the 2024-205 season.
“It’s heartbreaking news, primarily because it’s been such an immense pleasure working with this cast and crew to put out a show that we’ve always been proud of. They are truly an extraordinary group of people who have all worked so hard and have been so dedicated for all these eight seasons, overcoming countless challenges. I can’t give them enough credit. I feel so privileged to have been a part of the SWAT family,” SWAT showrunner Andrew Dettman said in a statement reacting to the cancellation.
Considering CBS uncanceled the show twice before, there is some understandable disbelief among fans that this is really the end for the Shemar Moore police drama. However, it seems CBS has no intention of walking back their decision again.
Deadline reports that, unlike in previous years when CBS and Sony Pictures Television underwent renewal talks, CBS reportedly did not engage in any renewal talks this season and instead opted to end the series outright. This indicates CBS has no plans to extend SWAT’s run any further following its current eighth season which has eight episodes left in its current season (episode 14 airs on March 7).
As disappointing as it might be to see SWAT ending (again), the show has fallen quite a bit in its ratings this season and now ranks as CBS’s least-watched scripted series. It also doesn’t help that the show hails from an outside studio which makes it more expensive to produce.
SWAT is now the third high-profile series CBS has pulled the plug on this March with the show joining FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International in the cancellation pool. These cancellations come as CBS looks to make room for several new series which have already been ordered for next season including Sheriff Country and Boston Blue with CBS also eyeing new spinoffs for FBI and The Equalizer.
At this point, only four shows remain on the bubble at CBS: The Equalizer, Poppa’s House, The Neighborhood, and Watson. Given how quick CBS has been to cancel FBI: Most Wanted, FBI: International, and now SWAT, we definitely worry about whether more cancelations could be coming our way as CBS continues to clean house to make room for new programming.