As S.W.A.T. prepares to return for its eighth season on the 2024 TV schedule, the CBS procedural has a lot to celebrate. The series is making a comeback after being uncanceled for a second time and, ahead of Season 8, the cast and crew celebrated a major milestone of hitting 150 episodes. Shemar Moore gave one of his famous speeches to his colleagues about it too, which included him revealing that he almost said no to the part and reflecting on the show getting saved twice.
Earlier this week, the cast and crew gathered around a S.W.A.T.-themed cake to celebrate their milestone. Moore shared a video to Instagram of the speech he gave thanking everyone who works on the show and those who came before them, such as the original S.W.A.T. series and the films, check it out:
Moore also revealed in the speech that he initially passed on the show “because the money was shit.” However, it was a conversation with his mom that changed his mind, he said
I did pass, and it was because the money was shit. And then Shawn Ryan sent me a really sweet email, and then a script followed that or the pilot, and I got through the teaser. And I was at my mother's house – and mom's in Heaven mom smiling all of this, at me, at us – but I was in my mother's house, and at 9:30 in the morning, I said ‘Ma let’s have some Hennessy,’ and she said, ‘But it's nine o'clock in the morning.’ I said, ‘Read this teaser.’ And she sat down, and at 74 she read the teaser, and she said, ‘Oh, baby, oh this is my son's show.’
Along with that, the actor felt the need to assure everyone that S.W.A.T. is not just him or a single person but an entire village. He even fought to have everyone on the initial poster since the network only wanted him.
Of course, he also felt the need to bring up being uncanceled twice, and it’s truly incredible to see that the show is now celebrating a big milestone despite being close to the end on more than one occasion. While the future is always uncertain, the Criminal Minds alum admitted he is committed to bringing the series to 10 seasons and 200 episodes, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that happens just two short years from now.
The 150th celebration could not have come at a better time either, with S.W.A.T. returning for Season 8 the same week. It was announced back in April that the drama was uncanceled for the second time in less than a year, and filming kicked off over the summer. While the series will look a little different with some casting changes for Season 8, as Alex Russell and Kenny Johnson both departed last season, it’s still going to be a thrilling set of episodes.
Earlier this month as part of a CBS fall preview video, Shemar Moore also shared that he was “grateful” to be coming back for another season, and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Now that the series has hit 150 episodes when it very well could have ended at 128 episodes or 141, “grateful” is perhaps the best way to describe the feeling that we're getting more.
It’s very possible that S.W.A.T. could hit 200 episodes, and CBS President Amy Reisenbach previously shared that she personally enjoys Moore's show and was happy the network was able to renegotiate with Sony. So, hopefully, that mentality sticks for a while and the show continues to get renewed. However, while it's exciting to look toward the future, let's focus on the present, because S.W.A.T. Season 8 premieres on Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.