‘S.W.A.T.’ Star Shemar Moore Expresses Frustration About Drama’s Cancellation
Shemar Moore | CBS S.W.A.T.
Shemar Moore, who has been portraying Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson on the CBS drama series S.W.A.T. since 2017, recently took to Instagram to express his sadness and frustration about the show’s cancellation after six seasons. Moore emphasized that the cancellation of the show would leave network TV without any African American actor in a leading role and the only series with a truly diverse cast.
Moore said on his Instagram, “I’m a lot a bit sad. We got canceled, S.W.A.T., S.W.A.T. got canceled. It makes no sense. Look up the articles, read the articles. We are the best shows on Friday night at 8 for CBS. The last two years we have been killing it, us and the fire show…the fire show [Fire Country] that comes on right after us, and respect to those brothers and sisters. We’ve done nothing wrong. We did everything that was asked for. And let me tell the truth. We’re diverse. Did you know I am the only African American male lead on network TV? Not streaming, not cable, network television…”
He further added, “S.W.A.T. is the most diverse show on CBS. CBS when I got hired to be Hondo on S.W.A.T., was getting a lot of flack for lack of diversity. If I post this and I think I might, I will get in a lot of trouble with CBS because I’m calling them out cuz’ they’ve been wonderful to me for 26 out of my 29-year career. But to abruptly get told that you’re canceled when you led us to believe last week and the week before that … that we would have some semblance of a season 7 to at least say goodbye, if not continue, and to abruptly be told you’re done…now there’s a lot of politics, a lot of things called licensing, a lot of you won’t understand what that means…its all about money, y’all. They said we’re canceled, but guess what I don’t think we’re done.”
CBS is home to several shows with persons of color in leading roles, including The Equalizer, The Neighborhood and CSI: Las Vegas. However, with the cancellation of S.W.A.T., it is evident that the issue of diversity in network TV is still a long way from being resolved.
The decision to cancel S.W.A.T. was a result of a financial disagreement between CBS and lead studio Sony TV over the show’s renewal. As Deadline reported in March, early renewals on shows over the last few years had come with the network keeping the license fee unchanged, which had put more pressure on the budget and further squeezing profit margins as costs increase every year. Sony was not willing to go for another renewal at a flat license fee as that would compromise the show’s financial model.
CBS eventually went up on the license fee but the offer came with a cut of the order, which would’ve pushed up the per-episode budget even higher and further hurt the show’s economics. The two sides were in negotiations till the end but the gap between them remained, leading to Friday’s cancellation. It appears unlikely the show will find another home.
The finale of S.W.A.T. is actually a two-parter that begins on May 12. The final episode will air May 19, marking the end of an era for one of CBS’s most diverse and popular shows. The cancellation of S.W.A.T. is a reminder that the industry still has a long way to go in terms of diversity and representation.
