SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the two-hour series finale of S.W.A.T. on CBS.
No more last-minute reprieves for Hondo and his 20 Squad: the CBS police drama starring Shemar Moore wrapped for good on May 16.
The two-hour finale was actually two separate episodes dubbed “Ride or Die” and “Return to Base” that dealt with car jackers and ex-pat Russian mercenaries who buried hidden explosives in L.A. But they still gave Moore’s Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson one more chance to participate in an epic fist fight while the rest of the castmembers — Jay Harrelson (Deacon), David Lim (Tan), Anna Enger Ritch (Zoe), Niko Pepaj (Miguel) and Annie Ilonzeh (Devin) — engaged in a mammoth bullet exchange to save HQ.
That’s right; those mercenaries attempted to infiltrate the downtown L.A. S.W.A.T. building in an effort to steal back a Russkie baddo before he’s used in a prisoner swap for kidnapped Americans. The good guys and gals prevailed but not without their headquarters sustaining major damage during the attack.
But Deacon’s not fazed! “It’s just a building,” he said to the others. “It’s the people inside who matter.” Can we get an aww?
The episode ends with Deacon gifting his colleagues with some expensive Rolex watches — the perks of receiving a bonus from facilitating a mall contract. (Get it? Because S.W.A.T. officers are always living on “borrowed time.”) The team then responds to a robbery in progress after affectionately tapping the S.W.A.T. symbol on their way out the door.
During the past two years, S.W.A.T. lead studio Sony Pictures Television was able to propose financial terms that were appealing to CBS, sealing eleventh-hour pickups for the drama from Shawn Ryan and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. This time, however, CBS did not engage in renewal talks, opting instead to end the long-running series to make may for new Paramount-owned shows like Sheriff Country.
S.W.A.T. was the third high-profile drama cancelled this month by CBS, following the axing of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International. All three came from outside studios, Sony TV and Universal Television.
Earlier this month, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach acknowledged to reporters that “it’s not easy to end shows and we had a lot of options this year.”
“The schedule is really full and so we always have to look at all of our shows, look at the aggregate information, the creative of where they are in their life cycle, what the finances look like, what the ratings are, and then we make those tough decisions,” she continued.
S.W.A.T. was the rare broadcast drama that filmed in Los Angeles. Following the cancellation, executive producer and former showrunner Shawn Ryan spoke of the series’ crew that are now out of work.
“It’s been an extraordinary privilege to work on S.W.A.T. for eight seasons and tell the stories of Hondo and 20-Squad,” he said. “I thank our fans, Shemar Moore, the rest of our cast, our producers, Sony Pictures Television, CBS Studios and CBS for the opportunity. 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. is based on the 1975 TV series and 2003 film of the same name. Executive producers are Ryan, Dettmann, Justin Lin, Neal H. Moritz, Marney Hochman, Pavun Shetty, Billy Gierhart, Moore and James Scura.
