Following the Friday announcement that the CBS series S.W.A.T. would be canceled after six seasons, lead Shemar Moore took to Instagram to express his disappointment and frustration over the networks decision.
Moore stars on the CBS drama as LAPD Sgt. Daniel Hondo Harrelson. The current (and now final) season is averaging 6.8 million total viewers per episode, according to Nielsen ratings.
Moore shared a video highlighting the success of S.W.A.T.: For CBS, last two years weve been killing it Weve done nothing wrong. We did everything that was asked for.
As Moore highlighted the shows successful viewership he also called how he is the only African American male lead on broadcast television, not including streaming or cable. Adding, Now lets get beyond me, S.W.A.T. is the most diverse show on CBS.
CBS, when I got hired to be Hondo onS.W.A.T., was getting a lot of flak for lack of diversity. If I post this, and I think I might, I will get in a lot of trouble with CBS because Im calling them out. Because theyve been wonderful to me for 26 out of my 29-year career. But to abruptly get told that youre canceled when you led us to believe last week and the week before, and the week before that that we would have some semblance of a season seven to at least say goodbye, if not continue. And to abruptly be told, Youre done.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shemar Moore (@shemarfmoore)
As Moore continued, he clarified that although he was personally disappointed, he is concerned for those who have worked and contributed to the series. I care about my family. My crew. The writers, the producers, the caterers, the wardrobe, the sound mixers, the teamsters, the construction crew, a whole lot of people that are abruptly being told that You dont matter. Sorry, thank you for your services. Good luck and find a new job. And to me, thats not okay.
I will be fine, but Im upset because I busted my whole entire ass to prove that I could do this, and I did prove that I could do this, added Moore. I understand its not personal, its business, but I still have faith thatS.W.A.T.will live to see another day.
So Im 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 fucking noise. And let them know that cancelingS.W.A.T.is a fucking mistake.
Following Moores plea, fans of the series have taken to social media, by commenting and posting #SaveSWAT.