S.W.A.T. canceled for the third time — ‘heartbreaking news,’ showrunner says

Fans were thrilled when CBS brought S.W.A.T. back to life after canceling the action series in 2023, then crushed when it was canceled again, thrilled when it was brought back a second time, and now, the cycle is shutting down again.

S.W.A.T. has been canceled for a third time, Entertainment Weekly has learned. The police procedural starring Shemar Moore has aired on CBS for eight seasons since 2017.

Showrunner and executive producer Andrew Dettmann mourned the recent programming decision as “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.”

Dettman, who has served as an executive producer since the series’ second season, added, “I feel so privileged to have been a part of the S.W.A.T. family.” Co-creator and executive producer Shawn Ryan echoed Dettmann’s sentiment, calling it “an extraordinary privilege to work on S.W.A.T. for eight seasons and tell the stories of Hondo and 20-Squad.”

“I thank our fans, Shemar Moore, the rest of our cast, our producers, Sony Pictures Television, CBS Studios and CBS for the opportunity,” Ryan continued. “Most of all I want to thank our tireless, dedicated crew who made our writers, directors and cast always look good. My greatest concern right now is for them.”

S.W.A.T. was originally canceled in May 2023 after six seasons. Days after the announcement was made, and after Moore called on fans to “make some f—ing noise and let ’em know that canceling S.W.A.T. is a f—ing mistake,” CBS did just that. S.W.A.T. was revived for a seventh season, but the network indicated that would be the last. Then the following April they renewed the series again, but after this eighth season, the series is finally down for the count.

S.W.A.T. is based on the 1975 Aaron Spelling series of the same name starring Steve Forrest and Robert Urich. That series only ran for two seasons, but was adapted into a film in 2003 co-written by Fast and the Furious scribe David Ayer and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Rodriguez.

Moore enthused about the show’s commitment to addressing social issues to EW in 2017, saying, “We’re dealing with racism, we’re dealing with fear issues from all ethnicities versus blue…. Hopefully…by watching S.W.A.T. over time, we can create a little more understanding, a little more compassion, between blue and civilians — all civilians.”

The news comes as part of a broad swath of CBS cancellations, including both FBI spinoffs, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International. The news of the three canceled series isn’t altogether surprising, given they were left out of the network’s enthusiastic announcement of all the series that did get picked back up last month.