The procedural was initially axed on Friday, but backlash -- including star Shemar Moore's criticisms -- led to the reversal on Monday.
Talk about a 180.
After initially canceling S.W.A.T. just three days ago, CBS officially reversed its decision on Monday, ordering a seventh and final season that will consist of 13 episodes.
“We have listened to our viewers and their outpouring of passion for S.W.A.T. and have reached an agreement to renew it for a final season of 13 episodes to air during the 2023-2024 broadcast year," said Amy Reisenbach, President of CBS Entertainment, and Katherine Pope, President of Sony Pictures Television Studios, in a joint statement.
"S.W.A.T. has aired for six seasons on CBS and garnered a devoted following. We are pleased that we found a way to bring it back and give closure to the show storylines and characters, which audiences deserve," their statement continued. "Once again, we appreciate the talents and efforts of the cast, writers, producers and crew and everyone who contributed to the success of S.W.A.T. and look forward to its return next season.”
The reversal comes after the long-running procedural, which stars Shemar Moore as Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, was axed on Friday, despite seeing its viewership grow from last year.
In the aftermath of the cancellation news, Moore sounded off on Instagram to express his outrage over the sudden turn of events. "Nooooooo my god ! I’m a lot a bit sad !! This is ludicrous.. SWAT is amazing .. what’s wrong with CBS !" the actor captioned the video. "Don’t know a good thing when they have it … I am truly gutted ! Good for you for speaking the truth."
Moore, who will now add executive producer to his duties in the final season as part of the final season pickup, further elaborated on his unhappiness over the news.
"We got canceled, S.W.A.T. S.W.A.T. got canceled. It makes no sense," the 53-year-old actor said. "We're the best show on Friday nights at 8 o'clock for CBS. The last two years we've been killing it, us and the Fire show [Fire Country]. We've done nothing wrong. We did everything that was asked for."
"I don’t think we’re done," Moore said. "CBS is either gonna wake up and realize they made a mistake. Sony is gonna do their math and realize that this is not the right move."
And it looks like the uproar over the show's cancellation made a difference. On Monday evening, Moore had good news to share, celebrating S.W.A.T.'s resurrection on Instagram.
"Ayyeee!!!!! We did it #SWATFAM!!! @swatcbs is coming back for a 7th and Final season with 13 Episodes!!! Thank you to all of you for the continued and amazing support!! Let’s go," he wrote.
With S.W.A.T. coming back for one last swan song, CBS dramas True Lies and East New York were unfortunately on the short end of the stick Monday as both were canceled after one-season runs.
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