While there are many shows ending or canceled in 2024, S.W.A.T. will no longer be one of them. The CBS procedural was surprisingly uncanceled -- for the second time in less than a year. However, with much of Season 7 being promoted as the final run for 20-Squad, some stories were wrapped up prior to the finale. That being said, Shemar Moore previously revealed that the upcoming finale would remain unchanged and that it not only wraps up stories but leaves doors open within the narrative. Now, his co-star, Jay Harrington, is further explaining why it was the right choice.
One of the stories that the series has been aiming to wrap up involves the retirement of Jay Harrington's character, David "Deacon" Kay. The sergeant made the decision in recent episodes to put S.W.A.T. behind him but has still somewhat been on the fence about it. While it’s still unknown what his character's future holds, Harrington teased TV Insider in regard to how the finale is crafted and what's in store:
Deacon has made a decision 100 percent, with family and with himself and himself. When he said nothing’s changed, it’s true. The way the writers crafted this entire 13 episodes was really, really interesting because they didn’t want it to be—not just because there’s a chance we could come back, but sometimes in shows when they just end and they tie it all into this bow and it’s perfect, yeah, you want to do that in some way, but these guys, SWAT officers, they’re special. So they really wanted the idea of, the show must go on and it’s a job that doesn’t go away and we don’t lose them. They crafted it very, very smartly, I think.
Even after S.W.A.T.’s first uncancelation last year, Shemar Moore was openly optimistic about the show’s future. And, since the writers decided to go with a more open-ended finale this time around, they may have felt the same. With that in mind, one gets the idea that while stories have already been concluded for this season -- such as Street and Luca’s exits from the team -- there’s a possibility that those previously loose ends could be undone once more. All in all, I'd agree that the creative team went down the right path when approaching this episode thematically.
With Season 8 consisting of 22 episodes, it’s clear that there are still plenty of other stories to tell about 20-Squad. The group will be looking a little bit different next season given cast exits, but I'm just glad the show itself is coming back. Details are, of course, being kept under wraps but, right now, Jay Harrington has revealed what he hopes to see in future installments:
I hope that his team can get their act together and I’m going to leave it to those guys what their ideas are, but I can safely say, I’m not going anywhere. So it’ll be just nice to be back and see where that takes us.
If the show had remained canceled, the finale would've left fans fuming because of how open it was. Usually, a proper series closer completely wraps storylines and gives characters conclusions, thus giving the audience closure The fact that the writers were still going all in on a "life goes on" finale even after being told they were only getting one more season, speaks volumes. Here's hoping the episode is indeed a banger and firmly sets the table for Shemar Moore's, Jay Harrington's and their co-stars' characters in Season 8.
Luckily it won’t be long until fans get to see the S.W.A.T. season finale, as it airs on Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS as part of the 2024 TV schedule. Those who want to catch up on episodes before then can do so by streaming them with a Paramount+ subscription.
