CBS procedural S.W.A.T. will hit the 100-episode milestone in just a couple of weeks. It's a big achievement and one that the show's stars have plenty of feelings about. Series alum Lina Esco, who actually directed the 99th episode, recently opened up about the milestone and what it was like to film it after directing her own episode of the show.
Ahead of the newest S.W.A.T. episode, Lina Esco opened up to TVLine about her work on the fan-favorite procedural. During the conversation, the highly-anticipated 100th episode came up and the actress revealed how emotional it was for her, considering she had just wrapped filming her episode:
Matt, I can’t believe it. I never in a million years thought I was going to be hitting 100 episodes. These five years blasted by fast. The episode I directed was No. 99, so as I was wrapping my episode we were starting to shoot our 100th, and I was already emotional because I had so much fun directing…. It was just a lot. I’ve been really emotional about where we’re at now and opposed to how far we’ve come. It’s all beautiful, actually.
One can imagine how directing an episode and then immediately shooting a milestone installment would be overwhelming, especially when you're doing it alongside people you care for. The stars have proven how close they are with each other (look no further than S.W.A.T. cornhole team). It's great when a show proves to have longevity because you get to see the characters and the actors themselves evolve as people. And based on Lina Esco's comments, it's clear that she appreciates this.
Shemar Moore and the cast of the action drama celebrated the filming of the 100th episode last month. The Criminal Minds alum posted a message, along with some photos of the celebration, on his Instagram. He also thanked the cast, crew and of course, the fans for watching over the past five seasons.
Coincidentally, S.W.A.T. isn't the only CBS series looking to hit the major 100-mark this TV season. Just before the procedural reaches it, comedy Young Sheldon will be hitting it first this week. Iain Armitage, the star of the Big Bang Theory prequel series, recently opened up about how he feels about hitting the major milestone.
It’s honestly hard to believe 98 episodes of S.W.A.T. have aired. The series has yet to be renewed for Season 6, as CBS hasn’t announced drama renewals as of this writing. Hopefully, answers will arrive soon, because I need to know if I'll be getting more of 20-Squad next season.
At present, though, Season 5 has been an intense, filled with plenty of action as the show aims for ratings in the midst of schedule changes. Following the two-part season opener, 20-Squad has dealt with a number of challenges, both personally and professionally. For instance, Street and Chris are still trying to figure out their relationship, and Hondo was preparing for fatherhood before his and Nichelle's adoption fell through. With so much having happened so far, who knows what's in store for the team in the landmark installment.
The Lina Esco-directed episode of S.W.A.T. airs tonight, Sunday March 27th at 10 p.m. EST on CBS, while the 100th episode is set to premiere in two weeks on Sunday, April 10. Be sure to heck out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule for more on other big premieres.
