Why was SWAT canceled after six seasons on CBS?
After all, consider some of the numbers! Live viewership was up more than 15% versus what we saw back in season 5, and this proves to be a really good lead-off on Friday nights. You wouldn’t sit back and think that we wouldn’t have a chance to see something more … and yet, here we are.
So what gives? Well, SWAT was canceled for largely the same reason that CBS did the same with Magnum PI last year: Money. Because the network does not own the show fully, it takes complicated negotiations with various studios to get a deal done. The economics leading into the renewal this time around were different, and CBS could not get an agreement done that was to their liking. Clearly, they think that they can find more cost-effective programming elsewhere, even if the ratings are not as strong.
Clearly, this was a financial decision, and not one made in regard to how viewers feel. While this network does have some of the most-watched shows out there, we also can’t sit here and ignore a recent track record. Beyond this show ending and Magnum PI getting canceled (the latter was saved by NBC), remember that they also are ending NCIS: Los Angeles this season, and barely decided on its fate in time for the writers to piece together a series finale. CBS tends to cancel more long-running shows than a lot of other networks, and the concern has to be that this will come back to bite them.
One thing we will note here is that this cancellation is probably not directly connected to the writers’ strike currently happening. There were reports about financial negotiations going on long before everything went down with the WGA over the past few days.
Related – Be sure to get more news on SWAT, including Shemar Moore addressing the cancellation
Are you still shocked that SWAT was canceled over at CBS?
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(Photo: CBS.)
This article was written by Jessica BunBun.