Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen offers a viewing tip for the coming week.
The former CBS drama “SEAL Team,” starring David Boreanaz as Navy SEAL team leader Jason Hayes, streams the first episode of its seventh and final season Aug. 11 on Paramount+.
In a Zoom interview late last month, Boreanaz said he was ready for “SEAL Team” to end before the writers’ and actors’ strikes last year.
“I knew I was done with the show, just spiritually,” he said. “My body was really beat up and I felt as though we had a great opportunity to come full circle with Jason, examining the whole subject matter of how you deal with your kills as an operator.”
When the season six finale streamed in November 2022, Hayes became persona non grata with command when he spoke out against the war machine’s treatment of injured personnel.
“We find him in a bit of a resolution with that and other guys on the team, sitting around, waiting in a holding pattern,” Boreanaz said. “We start to peel the onion away on this trauma, and that puts him on the sideline for a few episodes in the beginning.”
Boreanaz said “SEAL Team” always prides itself on the authenticity of its characters and what they do.
“The sacrifices they make to our country, that is a lot on the plate heading into the back end of the series and the series finale,” he said. “It’s a bit heartbreaking in a lot of ways, and I think the audience will be a little bit shocked as far as, ‘Why would they go down that path?’ (Our characters) are always susceptible to not making it. That weighs heavily on Jason’s plate.”
In addition to starring in and executive producing “SEAL Team,” Boreanaz directs an episode around the midpoint of the season that focuses on the relationship between Jason and his son.
“It really examines the influx of fentanyl and how dangerous that can be,” Boreanaz said. “It’s the start of a major arc that leads to the conclusion of the season in a way. I love the episode I directed this year. Like all ‘SEAL Team’ episodes, it’s a fast, furious adventure story.”
As for what’s next, the former star of “Angel” and “Bones” said he’s “sold something to the studio and we’re excited about that and there are other things at play.” He declined to name the studio or describe the project.
“Giving myself time is important for my balance and to just take care of myself,” Boreanaz said. “Along the way, I had the opportunity to see the things I planted two to three years ago show the fruits of those labors, whether that’s a theater piece or a series or releasing a movie independently or getting involved as a producer, director. It’s an exciting time, and I’m happy we’ve come to a conclusion.”
