Will SWAT season 8's return be pushed to February on CBS?

With the NCIS: Sydney season 2 premiere being pushed to February, eyes are on the rest of Friday night. Will SWAT season 8's return also be pushed back?

“Life” – 20-Squad faces down a prison hostage situation, only to be thrown into deeper danger when a bomb explodes, freeing maximum-security prisoners from their cells, including someone with a personal grudge against Hondo, on S.W.A.T., Friday, Nov. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Pictured (L-R):
“Life” – 20-Squad faces down a prison hostage situation, only to be thrown into deeper danger when a bomb explodes, freeing maximum-security prisoners from their cells, including someone with a personal grudge against Hondo, on S.W.A.T., Friday, Nov. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*. Pictured (L-R):

CBS is making a small change to its January schedule. We now know that NCIS: Sydney season 2 will no longer premiere on Friday, Jan. 31. But what about the other Friday night shows. Will we also need to wait until February for the return of SWAT season 8?

The news came on Friday, Jan. 17 to explain that NCIS: Sydney would be pre-empted due to an unnamed special that CBS will air that day instead. This, naturally, led to questions about the other shows. The good news is there are no delays elsewhere.

SWAT season 8 will still return in January 2025

Despite the delay to the start of the day, the rest of the Friday night lineup will remain the same. That means SWAT season 8 will return on Friday, Jan. 31.

It is still important to note that the episode will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The series is being pushed to the last timeslot of the night, taking over the former Blue Bloods timeslot. While this will be concerning to some, the timeslot was a strong one for Blue Bloods. There’s some hope that it remains a good one for SWAT.

Will SWAT season 8 have delays in the season?

One of the good things about the later return from winter break is that there are fewer weeks to May than there would have been with an earlier return. This would mean fewer breaks in the schedule after the return.

However, we may end up with a couple of extra breaks. SWAT was one of the shows that paused production due to the devastating fires in Los Angeles. It wasn’t paused for too long, so it’s a little hard to tell how much time was lost. Of course, the pause was necessary, but that doesn’t make the wait for new episodes any easier.

Production has now moved inside, which will mean no car chases for a while. We can cope with that, as long as everyone is safe. Inside filming is necessary due to the air quality outside right now.

SWAT will still return on Friday, Jan. 31 at 10/9c on CBS. Catch up the following day on Paramount+.

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