Why Is ‘S.W.A.T.' Ending After Season 8? Here's Why CBS Canceled The Show Again
Bill Inoshita/Sony Pictures Television/CBS
The S.W.A.T. Season 8 finale is airing tonight on CBS, marking the end of the Shemar Moore-led police procedural that's been on the air for eight years. Why is S.W.A.T. ending, and why wasn't the show able to be saved this time around?
CBS canceled the crime drama in March 2025, marking another high-profile cancellation for a show that's had ups and downs with the network over the past two years. S.W.A.T. wasn't the only series to get axed: Poppa's House, The Summit, The Neighborhood, FBI: International, and FBI: Most Wanted are also not getting renewed.
If S.W.A.T.'s cancellation sounds familiar, that's because in May 2023, after six seasons, CBS initially declined to renew the show for a seventh season. The cancellation quickly drew immense backlash from Moore and fans, who criticized the network for its lack of diversity.
'It makes no sense. We've done nothing wrong. We did everything that was asked for,' Moore said in a video posted to Instagram on May 6, 2023. The actor, who's a CBS vet from The Young and the Restless and Criminal Minds, praised S.W.A.T. as 'the most diverse show on CBS.'
Variety later reported that the original decision to cancel S.W.A.T. came down to licensing fees. After Sony and CBS were unable to come to terms in 2023, the show was canceled. However, CBS later worked out a deal for a final seventh season with a reduced episode count. Season 7 eventually premiered in February 2024 after delays caused by the now-resolved Hollywood strikes.
In May 2024, CBS surprisingly reversed course again and renewed S.W.A.T. for an eighth season – despite previously announcing that Season 7 would be the last. As the show is preparing to release its anticipated Season 8 finale tonight, the decision to end the series appears to be final.
Three weeks before the Season 8 finale, Moore posted a lengthy Instagram video announcing that S.W.A.T. was canceled again and will not return after Season 8.
"I wasn't going to do this, but I can't help it," he said in the video. 'S.W.A.T. here we are, Season 8, three weeks away from the finale. We are canceled again. It sucks. It's sad.'
He continued, "Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for the ride. If you change your mind, I promise you, you'll make a lot of people smile," while making one last plea to another streaming site: Netflix.
"But if you're done, CBS, I say thank you. Hey, Netflix, how you doing?'
According to a report from Deadline, S.W.A.T.'s studio, Sony Pictures Television, was able to propose appealing financial terms to keep the show going, 'sealing eleventh-hour pickups.' However, this time around, sources told the site that 'CBS did not engage in renewal talks' and instead opted 'to end the long-running series outright.'
Also, ahead of the cancellation, executive producer and former showrunner Shawn Ryan expressed concern over S.W.A.T.'s fate amid the pending ownership change at CBS. (Skydance Media's $8 billion agreement to merge with Paramount Global was extended to July 7, 2025, as the parties await FCC approval.)
'The show I think is beloved in the executive ranks at CBS, the show is beloved by our audience,' he told Deadline at the time. 'But we also understand that a corporate change is happening in that world. I don't know what the plans are. I don't know what the criteria for renewal is going to be. It seems like it could be much different than years past.'
S.W.A.T. executive producer Andrew Dettmann called the news of S.W.A.T.'s cancellation 'heartbreaking.'
"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," Dettmann told the outlet. '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.'
S.W.A.T. is based on the 1975 television series and the 2003 film of the same name. In addition to Moore, the cast also includes Jay Harrington, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit, Anna Enger Ritch, Niko Pepaj, and Annie Ilonzeh.
The S.W.A.T. Season 8 finale is airing on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
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