Shemar Moore expressed his frustrations over the cancelation of S.W.A.T. on social media after CBS announced the series would end in its sixth season.
The actor stars in the series as LAPD Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, a role held since its November 2017 debut. In a video uploaded to Instagram on Saturday (May 6), the 53-year-old called out the network for its practices.
“I got sunglasses on cuz I’m a little bit sad. I’m a lot a bit sad. We got canceled,” he candidly revealed. “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,” he explained, praising Fire Country, the series that airs after the crime drama.
He continued, “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.”
The Criminal Minds actor continued to explain how although LL Cool J leads on NCIS: Los Angles, the rapper-turned-actor is second on the call sheet to Chris O’Donnell.
“I am the only African American male lead. Let’s get beyond me. 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.”
The leading actor continued to share his perspective on how he was informed of the decision to end the series, detailing “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 either gonna wake up and realize they made a mistake [or] Sony is gonna do their math and realize that this is not the right move.”
The video continued with Moore explaining that his frustrations extend beyond himself, while also stating his respect for the series and the team behind its success.
“If it is the end, life will go on, I’m not worried about me. I care about my family. My crew, the writers, the producers, the caterers, the wardrobe, the sound mixers, the teamsters, the construction crew ..that’s a whole lot of people who are abruptly being told you that don’t matter, sorry, thank you for your services. Good luck in finding a new job. To me, that’s not okay.
“I’m asking my homies, my fans, and my baby girls, and the rest of the world who follow me or follow the show, follow the cast, my brothers and my sisters: Make some f**king noise. And let them know that canceling ‘S.W.A.T.’ is a f**king mistake.”
According to Deadline, S.W.A.T. was canceled last Friday (May 5) after CBS decided not to renew the series due to CBS and Sony TV not being able to reach a financial agreement. According to the outlet, the series is one of the most popular, but also the “most expensive” scripted show on the network. The series finale is set to air in two parts on May 12, and May 19.
“For six seasons, the amazing talents of the S.W.A.T. cast led by Shemar Moore, the writers, producers, and crew guided by Executive Producers Shawn Ryan, Andy Dettman, and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas brought us compelling, action-packed episodes that also addressed important social issues and contributed to the success of our primetime line-up,” expressed Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment the outlet reported. “We sincerely thank them for their incredible work and passion and also thank our dedicated fans who tuned in every week.”
Watch Shemar Moore’s full Instagram video below.