CBS’ military drama, SEAL Team, is gearing up for its season finale and, for the last month or so, fans and the cast have been campaigning to get the series renewed for another season. While it was recently announced that SEAL Team will indeed be coming back for Season 5, it’s going to look a little different, as the series will be moving to CBS’ sister streaming service, Paramount+. Now, series star David Boreanaz is opening up on how he feels about the move to the streamer.
David Boreanaz, who portrays Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Jason Hayes on SEAL Team, has been very open about wanting the series to be renewed, but it may not have happened in the way he or many others might have expected. Many shows that have moved from network TV to streaming have seen much improvement, like Fox’s Lucifer, which moved to Netflix when it was cancelled after three seasons. Considering that a show like SEAL Team has intense storylines to make it feel more realistic, Boreanaz told Entertainment Weekly that Paramount+ could help the show take some new creative swings that will add to the quality of the series:
I think the biggest thing for us in moving to a platform like Paramount+ is that it puts us in the game. Look at Amazon, look at Netflix and their success of their shows and what you cannot do on network television. There are a lot standards and practices that we have to adhere to, which we didn't really want to adhere to. It sometimes was a frustrating place to be, because we really want to be honest and truthful with these episodes. This allows us to go darker. I'm not saying we're going to change the wheel, because we've established great characters. It's just a matter of shifting it up and doing some things that are going to be a lot of fun. We're working on that transition now. We're going to be working until the third week of July because we have to get those four episodes done for the network first [that'll air in the fall]. I think that's a good launching pad for us. It allows us to kind of sell that transition.
Being on a streaming platform like Paramount+ means there are less restrictions, as the wouldn’t have to follow network guidelines. David Boreanaz expressed his excitement for how far SEAL Team will be able to go in the upcoming season now:
Oh my God. I've been in network TV for over 20 years and now I can drop the F-bomb? But it's not about dropping the F-bomb. You have to earn those moments. I think they will be more readily earned on a streaming platform. We can really go there now, and that's going to be interesting, really. I'm excited about it.
Despite SEAL Team moving to Paramount+, it will still air the first four episodes of Season 5 on CBS before going to the streamer. The series will join Evil, which will also move to the streamer for its upcoming second season.
All four seasons of SEAL Team are streaming on Paramount+, and the Season 4 finale airs Wednesday, May 26 at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.
