Earlier this week, Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters) hinted at the possibility of returning to The Young and the Restless after the production wrapped on his CBS primetime series S.W.A.T. Buried in that tease, however, was optimism that the once-canceled drama might find new life.
Moore's optimism appears to have paid off. CBS has renewed S.W.A.T. for an eighth season, a season that will see a full order of 22 new episodes according to Deadline.
The renewal is quite a change of fortune for the series, which had previously been canceled at the end of its sixth season. According to published reports at the time, CBS and Sony TV were unable to come to terms on license fees. Unable to reach a deal, CBS announced that S.W.A.T. had been, um, swatted.
"I will get in a lot of trouble with CBS because I'm calling them out 'cause they've been wonderful to me for 26 out of my 29-year career," Moore said in an Instagram video at the time. "But to abruptly get told that you're canceled when you led us to believe last week and the week before that ... that we would have some semblance of a season 7 to at least say goodbye, if not continue, and to abruptly be told you're done...now there's a lot of politics, a lot of things called licensing, a lot of you won't understand what that means...it's all about money, y'all."
After an angry Moore took to social media to blast the cancellation, the two sides went back to the bargaining table and reached a deal that revived S.W.A.T. for a 13-episode seventh season. The shortened season was designed to give the show -- and fans -- some sort of closure.
"We have listened to our viewers and their outpouring of passion for S.W.A.T. and we have reached an agreement to renew it for a final season of 13 episodes to air during the 2023-2024 broadcast year," CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach and Sony Pictures Television Studios president Katherine Pope said in a joint statement in May 2023. "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's storylines and characters, which audiences deserve. Once again, we appreciate the talents and efforts of the cast, writers, producers and crew and everyone who has contributed to the success of S.W.A.T. We look forward to its return next season."
Ratings in the abbreviated season have continued to be strong on both linear (CBS broadcasts) and streaming. S.W.A.T. is currently ranked in the top 20 programs, and its ratings are up 11% over the previous year.
Deadline also reports that the show will not have to rewrite what was to have been its series finale. As written, the final episode wrapped up the show's story -- but also provides a jumping-off point for another season.
Before S.W.A.T.'s renewal, Moore said that he'd consider returning to The Young and the Restless. He began bringing Malcolm Winters to life in 1994 and has played him on and off ever since.
“I’m being busy with S.W.A.T., right now,” he told First for Women. “Now…when I’m unemployed, you might get me on Young and the Restless a little longer. But will I go back for a contract? No, probably not. Because if this is indeed the end of S.W.A.T., I want to continue to grow and evolve. There’s a lot in me that people don’t know that I’m capable of. I know it’s in me, but I got to dig deep to bring it out.”
Are you glad that S.W.A.T. has been renewed? Are you disappointed that it means that Shemar Moore might not be returning to Y&R? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
