There were a lot of disappointing decisions throughout March and April 2025 from CBS. One of those was the decision to cancel SWAT after eight seasons.
Okay, so this was the third time that CBS canceled SWAT. Fans have had a rollercoaster ride with this one, as it was canceled before the season 6 finale, only to end up being saved by CBS days later. Then the series was renewed for a seventh and final season, only for it to end up being renewed for an eighth season the following year.
So, naturally, fans were ready for a bit of a push back on the cancellation decision. Maybe CBS would U-turn again. But once that was clear it wouldn’t happen, then eyes were on another network to save the day.
SWAT season 9 was actively shopped around by Sony
We know that Shemar Moore pushed for another network to pick up the series, but it wasn’t just him. Sony TV was also behind the idea of finding a new home for SWAT season 9. According to prexy Katherine Pope, that almost happened.
The series got into the negotiation stages with a couple of networks/streamers, but it just couldn’t pass the finishing line. Pope shared that this wasn’t too surprising, as the nature of saving shows has changed over the last few years. People are so used to legacy shows airing on one network that saving them doesn’t quite work out.
"We tried really hard, and we felt like we got close at a place or two, but we just couldn’t quite get it over the line...Moving a show from one platform that’s had it for such a long time to another in today’s world, I think, is really difficult."
The SWAT universe will continue with Exiles
Instead, Sony has opted to create a new SWAT spinoff series. This will still include Hondo, but Exiles will be with a new team. Somewhere between the flagship series and this spinoff, Hondo has been forced into retirement, but he’s pulled out of that to train a bunch of newer SWAT officers.
The series doesn’t yet have a home, but Pope thinks that it will be much easier to find that than to save the OG show. On top of that, the production studio has always wanted to expand the SWAT universe, and this is the perfect time to do it.
“It was something that we had talked about a couple of years now.”
Is this the right way, though? I’m not as excited about the spinoff as I would have been a ninth season, but that’s because I love Tan and Deacon way too much to want to say goodbye to them. SWAT is an ensemble show, and that’s what makes it so much of a ride. While SWAT: Exiles will likely be as well, it’s just too many new characters to get to know, and I’m curious about where the other OG characters will go in their careers instead.
SWAT is available to stream on Netflix and Paramount+.
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