SWAT removes two original stars from final season intro in shocking snub

Fans tuning into the final season of SWAT on Friday night were treated to quite a shocking development within the opening moments of the final season's premiere.

During the opening credits sequence, fans were quick to notice that original cast members Kenneth “Kenny” Johnson and Alex Russell had both been removed from the show's title sequence. That's right, Street and Luca were entirely removed from the title sequence in the show which is a move that no one saw coming and that left fans at home shocked by the show's snub of the original cast members.

So what gives?

Street and Luca won't be in all of SWAT season 7

Truth be told, we're just as surprised as the fans with CBS's decision to remove both Kenny Johnson and Alex Russell from the opening credits for SWAT given that the two actors are both still part of the show, it's just that their status in the season has been downgraded for the show's farewell season.

As TVLine reported before the start of the season, Johnson and Russell will no longer be series regulars in the final season of SWAT. Instead, the pair of actors who have been a part of the show's cast from the very beginning will only be recurring in the final season of the show.

It's not yet clear how many episodes we'll get to see Luca and Street appear in, but showrunner Andrew Dettmann has assured fans both characters will be getting proper sendoffs.

“I’m really excited about the episodes we have for [Luca and Street],” Dettmann told TVLine. “The idea for the final 13 was that, if this was the end for us, nobody feels like they were underserved. There are some really good episodes for Alex and Kenny, for Street and Luca.”

While we understand that both Johnson and Russell are no longer series regulars on the show, the decision to remove them from the SWAT title sequence seems like a major snub for two actors who have been a crucial part of the show since its early days.

There are plenty of other shows that have kept long-time cast members in the opening credits even after their roles on the shows changed, so it's a shame that the SWAT creative team chose to remove the pair from the opening credits as a way to honor their legacy with the series instead of rubbing salt in the wounds knowing their roles in the final season were already downgraded.