For the first time since the late '90s, proven TV leading man David Boreanaz isn't set up to take over a new show in the wake of SEAL Team's seventh and final season. The actor, who has explained how taking the gig as Jason Hayes for CBS actually saved the show, was ready to leave the grueling role behind at the end of Season 7 even before news broke that it would end in the 2024 TV schedule. When he recently spoke with CinemaBlend, he reflected candidly about how the intense military series survived another three seasons on Paramount+ after being cut from CBS.
The first four seasons of SEAL Team aired on network television, with David Boreanaz moving over to CBS after twelve seasons of Bones on Fox. A renewal for Season 5 wasn't guaranteed, to the point that the star himself was posting on social media with a message for CBS as well as encouraging words for fans back in 2021. The show was of course renewed... but only to move over to streaming for fans with a Paramount+ subscription, as it would not return full-time to CBS.
At the time, David Boreanaz explained why he was excited to move to streaming to get darker with the storytelling and drop the occasional F-bomb, and those F-bombs did fly over the three seasons on Paramount+, including in his very last line as Jason Hayes. When I spoke with Boreanaz in support of SEAL Team's seventh season releasing on DVD, I noted that the streaming finale stuck the landing a lot better than the Season 4 finale on CBS would have as the end. He responded:
I agree. I don't think that the show fit CBS. I think a lot of us knew that. I think it was a type of show that was too heavy for them with the gravitas. Being able to switch over to a streaming platform allowed us even more to go deeper into the levels of storytelling and character depth, and the proof is just in the success of it.
SEAL Team certainly is a success story; not many shows are lucky enough to come back from being cut from the biggest broadcast network, let alone run for another three seasons and come to a satisfying end. There were some different ideas for Jason's ending that were scrapped early on before his fate was finally settled and filmed.
As for the series being too heavy for CBS, the network has plenty of crime shows that can get pretty dark, but there's a difference between the kind of heaviness that can fly on NCIS and FBI vs. what's needed to tell the story of an elite unit of Navy SEALs often operating overseas. Boreanaz went on:
Being able to take a show and make it a hit on a network, be blessed to do that, and then take it to a streaming platform and make it a hit on a streaming platform was just a blessing… It was a great show to be a part of, and my body thanks me for the healing process right now.
Currently 55, the star has been open about wanting to step away from the physical challenges of playing Jason Hayes, so Season 7 would have been the end for him even if Paramount+ had brought it back for an eighth season. He's clearly grateful for the journey that was SEAL Team, months after the series finale released.
All of this said, the actor also was clear that he doesn't hold anything against CBS in the slightest, with everything working out for the best. After I noted to Boreanaz that his final line as Jason Hayes – "Easy fucking day" – definitely couldn't have aired on CBS, he responded:
Oh, that's for sure. The studio was so gracious towards us and worked with us, and I love everybody on the network... You get to a point where it's eight years and seven seasons on a show like this. For me, it was time to call it, in my own personal journey. You know, you can go on as you'd like, but not with this character. So I think we ended it the way we should have [on Paramount+].
Was the Season 7 finale truly the last time that fans will ever see the SEAL Team characters on the small screen? It's hard to rule much out in the era of reboots and revivals, but David Boreanaz seems decidedly done and happy with how Jason's story ended. He's been luckier than many actors over the years of his career, and not just because of nearly three decades of lead TV roles. Many series are unceremoniously cancelled after a cliffhanger; SEAL Team could build up to its finale and stick the landing.
If you want to revisit the full run of SEAL Team or even try it for the first time, all seven seasons are currently available streaming on Paramount+. If you're in the market for some new TV options now that Bravo Team's last mission concluded, check out our 2025 TV schedule for what's on the way.
