While noting that being part of the show “has been one of the great honors of my life,” S.W.A.T. star David Lim wrote on Instagram that “What made S.W.A.T. special wasn’t just the action, or one character. It was the squad. The bond. The camaraderie. The shared blood, sweat, tears, and laughs we gave to every episode. That effortless chemistry was there from the very first day we came together for the pilot, and it carried through all 8 seasons.” In his statement, he said that “we fought” for a ninth season “for our crew, for each other, and for the newer faces just joining us,” but it’s “okay” that the renewal didn’t come.
However, “I’d be lying if I said the rollout of the new spinoff didn’t sting,” he admitted. “It was tough to see it announced just two days after our finale—with no mention of the cast who helped build S.W.A.T. from day one. After 8 incredible seasons, it felt like we were brushed aside when there could’ve been a moment of reflection and recognition—for the people who built this show, and for the impact it had on so many.”
Eight seasons and two miraculous revivals from cancellation is obviously nothing to sneer at—it’s more than most shows ever get, especially in the streaming era. But in the current business of television, a side-door renewal like S.W.A.T. Exiles isn’t just a way to extend the franchise, it’s a way to clean the slate and start over cheap. Series regulars who have been negotiating new contracts year to year tend to be more expensive than building a cheaper cast of newcomers around one expensive star. Recall what happened at the end of another CBS program, Bob Hearts Abishola, when almost all the show’s series regulars were demoted to recurring. The move was seen at the time as a bellwether for network TV. In fact, Deadline reported at the time that something similar had happened to S.W.A.T., where the actors’ per-episode rates stayed the same but their number of episodes per season was reduced; one actor supposedly left the show over it. Since then, similar reductions have occurred at Grey’s Anatomy and the FBI franchise.
All this to say, it’s not easy to be a journeyman actor on television these days. But Lim remains grateful for the experience. “I’ve seen the comments, the messages, the support—and it truly means a lot,” he wrote. “I may not know what the future holds for Tan, but I couldn’t be more proud of what we created together—our cast, writers, producers, crew… our SWAT family. No version of this story can take that away.”
