SEAL Team season four airs on Wednesdays on CBS in the US and Sky in the UK. The military drama follows an elite unit of the US Navy SEALs, but are the characters in SEAL Team based on real people? Express.co.uk has everything you need to know.
Are the characters in SEAL Team based on real people?
SEAL Team follows the personal and professional lives of the fictional Bravo Team, a team of the US Navy Special Warfare Development Group, the most elite unit of the Navy SEALs.
In season four alone, Bravo Team has rescued one of their own from a hostage situation, been on trial for military manslaughter and will take on Boko Haram. The characters in SEAL Team are not based on one person, but on an entire group of Navy SEAL veterans.
Speaking ahead of the SEAL Team premiere at the Television Critics Association Summer Tour 2017, executive producer Ed Redlich explained: “The roots of this show are rooted in the lives of the people who do this job.
“The backstories of the characters are a huge part of this show [and] to me, that’s what sets us apart from other shows. We wanted the whole show to resonate with that sense of reality.”
Speaking to Bustle, CBS senior vice president of operations Kelly Kahl added that the characters are rooted in US military history. “These are the people who got [Osama] bin Laden,” she said. “These are the people who found Saddam Hussein.”
Former SEAL Team members serve as consultants on the series, including consulting producer Mark Semos, a former US Navy SEAL turned actor. American actor, consultant, and Army Ranger Tyler Gray plays Trent Swayer on the series.
He also serves as a producer and consultant on the series. Gray is a former Delta Force operator and Army Ranger sniper. He retired for medical reasons after nine years of military service after being injured during a mission in Iraq.
The show also features real Navy dogs trained to detect explosives, track, and apprehend humans.
Will there be another SEAL Team series?
There has been no official announcement of a fifth season of SEAL Team. A fourth season is still in the works and airing in the United States and the United Kingdom, and a decision will likely be made after the series concludes. Renewing SEAL Team will depend on a number of factors including ratings, the availability of the cast and crew, and the events of the final four-episode series, which is only three episodes away.
The show may not have the highest ratings, but SEAL Team has been well received by critics and fans around the world. For example, the series currently has a 7.6 out of 10 rating on IMDb and a 79 percent score on popular review site rotten tomatoes.
David Boreanaz, who plays Jason Hayes on the series, has started a major campaign to renew SEAL Team. Boreanaz took to Twitter with the hashtag #SaveSEALTeam and, as expected, fans responded enthusiastically.
After CBS renewed several titles — NCIS, Blue Blood, S.W.A.T., and Bull — for new seasons but not SEAL Team in early April 2021, Boreanaz tweeted, “Come on CBS — renew this show.” He also took to Instagram to ask fans to help convince CBS to renew the show. Boreanaz posted a photo of him visiting a SEAL Team fan in the hospital.
He captioned the photo: “Real veterans are the real heroes behind CBS’ ‘Seal Team.’ “Keep going @cbstv Thank you to all the fans and veterans who supported and loved this show @sealteamcbs #ReNewThisShow. #NeverOutoftheFight.” Boreanaz’s SEAL Team co-star Neil Brown Jr. also shared his support for saving SEAL Team.
