Looks like Shemar Moore's success on CBS wasn't just exclusive to Criminal Minds! While many were sad to see him exit the series he spent over a decade working on, his break from television wouldn't be long as he soon made headlines as the star of a new CBS series. Since then, folks have been raving about his new series S.W.A.T. and watching in large enough numbers that the network has taken notice. After just three episodes, the network has announced S.W.A.T. will be receiving a full Season 1 order.
For S.W.A.T., that means the series will receive seven additional episodes over the network's previously ordered 13. CBS reports the series is averaging 10.36 million viewers over the past three episodes, and the ratings show a share of 1.9 in adults 18-49 and 2.8 in adults 25-54. While it's not exactly mega-hit show status in terms of CBS numbers, it's definitely solid enough to leave few questioning why CBS made the decision to see what this show can do with a full season. Perhaps with these new episodes, S.W.A.T. can manage to outperform its premiere numbers which were the best the 10 p.m. ET time slot had seen in over a year.
All in all, not too shabby for a reboot of a reboot of a spinoff! S.W.A.T. is based on the 2003 movie of the same name, which is in turn based on the 1975 television series that aired on ABC as a spinoff to another show, The Rookies. With this Season 1 order, S.W.A.T. is already a little over halfway to matching the episode count of the original series which ended at 37. If S.W.A.T. continues to engage its audience in the same way they have these past three episodes, there's a good chance the episode count will go far beyond that.
S.W.A.T.'s renewal comes a month after David Boreanaz's SEAL Team received a full Season 1 order in a very similar way. Unlike S.W.A.T., however, SEAL Team managed to snag an additional two episodes onto its season order, which is usually the standard episode count if not a smidge lower for the typical CBS crime drama. While no official reason has been given for the shortened episode count, some are pointing to S.W.A.T.'s late start in the fall season as a potential explanation.
Those who haven't tuned in yet can catch a new episode of S.W.A.T. November 23rd at 10 p.m. ET on CBS. With only so many shows left to premiere in 2017 on our fall premiere guide, now might be the time to jump in and get hooked, or perhaps to head over to our midseason premiere guide and start planning for the new year. To read up on some shows who didn't survive the year, visit our cancellation guide.
