SWAT is now cancelled after six seasons. The series, which is a reboot of the 1975 series of the same name and premiered on CBS in November 2017, follows an LAPD Special Weapons and Tactics unit led by Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson (Shemar Moore) and has run for over 120 episodes. The series' ensemble cast includes Stephanie Sigman, Alex Russell, Lina Esco, Kenny Johnson, Peter Onorati, and Jay Harrington. It also has featured guest performances from actors including Debbie Allen, Taye Diggs, and Lucifer star D.B. Woodside.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, SWAT has been canceled two weeks ahead of the show's season 6 finale. The reason for this cancellation is not because of ratings or the ongoing writers' strike. Rather, it is because the series is a co-production between CBS and Sony, and the industry is moving toward studios having full ownership of their series.

The SWAT Cancellation Explained

Shemar Moore and Rochelle Aytes in SWAT

Not only were SWAT's ratings not poor, but they were also actually improving. In season 5, the series averaged 6.41 million viewers per episode over the first seven days on the air. Season 6 improved that substantially with a new average of 6.82 million viewers, placing it among the Top 20 TV dramas.

However, those ratings weren't strong enough to draw CBS and Sony to continue collaborating. As more studios develop their own proprietary streaming services, it has become more important to be the full owners of their material. This same situation may be propelling the recent Yellowstone season 5 cancellation, which was announced following star Kevin Costner's departure. It may get the Paramount Network to refocus their hit franchise away from the flagship series (which is streaming on NBCUniversal's Peacock) and toward spinoffs (which are all on Paramount+).

However, this isn't solely an issue with streamers. Recently, The CW, which changed hands in mid-2022, cancelled a huge swath of their currently running series in favor of a new slate of non-coproduction programming, with only the strongest hit series remaining on the schedule next season. SWAT has fallen an unfortunate victim to this new trend, and it likely won't be the last series that this happens to.

SWAT airs on CBS on Fridays at 8 PM EDT.

Source: THR