SWAT has new 2024 episodes in line for release with Season 8's official schedule now confirmed by CBS.
While fans already knew about multiple characters leaving SWAT in Season 7, that season was also expected to be the final one for Shemar Moore's Los Angeles-based procedural.
The series will even return to a 22-episode slate after Season 7 only delivered 13 entries, giving Moore's Hondo and his team a chance to take on new challenges.
SWAT's 2024 Release Schedule Confirmed
An official Paramount press release confirmed the upcoming release schedule and premiere date for Season 8 of CBS' SWAT.
The SWAT Season 8 premiere is set to arrive on Friday, October 18 from 8 to 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, and it will stream on Paramount+ the next day.
Season 8, Episode 1 (titled "Vanished") will see SWAT searching for a group of missing children and their bus driver, who happens to be Hondo's former high school football coach.
The full synopsis for the upcoming Season 8 premiere can be seen below:
"SWAT tackles a mission with personal ties for Hondo when they race to find a group of missing students and their bus driver, Hondo’s former high school football coach. Also, Hicks has reservations regarding Hondo’s new 20-Squad team addition, Devin Gamble (Annie Ilonzeh), a cop with a family background deeply entrenched in crime, on the eighth season premiere of the CBS Original series 'S.W.A.T.,' Friday, Oct. 18 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs)*."
What Will Happen in SWAT Season 8?
Season 7 came with multiple major changes, including Jay Harrington's near-exit from SWAT and Kenny Johnson's departure from his role as Luca. However, there will be no shortage of excitement heading into the next slate of episodes.
From the shooting involving Hondo at the end of Season 7 to Harrington's David Kay ("Deacon") almost retiring, fans will be in for plenty of new updates with the show's main cast.
Moore also teased what to expect from the new season with Deadline, specifically touching on Johnson's exit along with Alex Russell's departure as Jim Street. However, he teased that "anything can happen" in Hollywood, hinting at some potentially exciting new storylines being developed for Season 8:
"It’s hard to say goodbye to a bunch of wonderful people. Alex Russell, Kenny Johnson and a couple of seasons back we lost Lina Esco. Change is hard; so now we have some OGs, myself as Hondo, Deacon, Hicks, Tan and some newbies. But regarding those people that you miss, nobody died. And in the world of Hollywood, anything can happen."
The team will also have a new member join the fray via Annie Ilonzeh's Devin Gamble, a skilled cop whose family is deeply embedded in the world of crime. She'll likely have to fight hard for her spot on the 20-Squad team as she hopes to prove her loyalty to protecting Los Angeles and her new teammates.
While SWAT's future is still a mystery following Season 8, anticipation is building to see the team back in action behind an accomplished industry veteran in Shemar Moore.
SWAT Season 8, Episode 1 will debut on CBS on Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m. ET.
