‘S.W.A.T.’ is staying on the beat for now
Q: Has “S.W..A.T.” been canceled? – Al Lerner, via e-mail
A: CBS canceled the police-drama reboot, but then “uncanceled” it after a few days. That owes largely to a big outcry from the show’s fans, which was fortified by a statement from star and executive producer Shemar Moore, who expressed (with abundant frankness) his disappointment with the network’s first decision about the show for the 2023-24 lineup.
That came down to a matter of money, since CBS wanted to pay the same licensing fee fior a seventh season, when costs would go up for such expenses as the salaries of regular cast members. In the end, CBS reversed itself and ordered a series-concluding Season 7 that will consist of 13 episodes rather than the more typical 22, saving some of the cost that way.
Q: When “Will Trent” resumes next season, will it pick up with the stories it left off with? – Greg Shaw, Mobile, Ala.
A: You can pretty much bank on that. As with the Karin Slaughter novels that the ABC show is based on, the characters’ past experiences form a big part of who they are, so the revelations that played out in the first-season finale — particularly for police detectives Will (played by Ramon Rodriguez) and Angie (Erika Chiristensen)— are virtually certain to keep playing out into Season 2.
Q: When did Jenna Bush Hager start co-hosting the last hour of “Today” with Hoda Kotb? – Kristin Myers, via e-mail
A: That NBC weekday hour became “Today With Hoda & Jenna” in April 2019, after Kathie Lee Gifford relinquished her role opposite Kotb following an 11-year run in that chair. Hager often contributes reports to the earlier “Today” hours as well — and, of course, Kotb also shares anchor duties with Savannah Guthrie for the first two hours of “Today” each Monday through Friday.
Q: Will “The Drew Barrymore Show” stay broken up as two separate half-hours every weekday? – Jane Countryman. Ann Arbor, Mich.
A: Evidently, since that formatting has been working well for stations that carry the syndicated program. They can run the show in halves at different times of the day, or can air them together to maintain the more traditional one-hour slot.
The 30-minute approach has worked particularly well for stations that use the first “Drew” half coming out of mid-morning newscasts, with the other half running later in the morning or in the early afternoon.
Send questions of general interest via email to tvpipeline@gracenote.com. Writers must include their names, cities and states. Personal replies cannot be sent.