Following news that CBS’ military drama SEAL Team will be moving to streaming service Paramount+ after the first four episodes of the upcoming fifth season, series star David Boreanaz is speaking out about the show’s critical acknowledgment. Or, more specifically, what he sees as the lack of critical acknowledgment.
David Boreanaz spoke to TV Insider about SEAL Team’s move to Paramount+, after the show’s fate was uncertain for quite some time. Boreanaz and his costars had been campaigning for CBS to renew the series, and recently it was revealed that the series, along with fellow drama Clarice, would be moving to Paramount+ for the upcoming seasons. The Angel alum thinks that due to the nature of the series, it’s getting overlooked by critics. He explained:
Standards and practices, obviously, is kind of a handcuff on network television. I’m proud of the show and the character and what Jason Hayes has accomplished. And I look forward to telling more stories and I’ve always said it’s good to go to the darker places and open and shed light into them so it can help these real men and women that are suffering, whether it’s PTSD or TBI. With a show like this, especially military shows, it’s a shame that it’s not recognized across the board from the people that are the voters and the Emmys and whatnot. I just feel like they don’t look at military shows, and I think that’s sad. I’m so proud of the crew and the cast and everybody who works on the show and it’s a shame that gets overlooked. But that’s the way it is, I think, in Hollywood.
Being a military show, SEAL Team tries to show the ups and downs of the brave men and women risking their lives for the country. The Season 4 storylines have involved more of Bravo Team’s struggles with everything they’ve been through, exploring their PTSD and new missions and everything in between. With the series getting another season, and even moving to a platform where David Boreanaz feels they have a bigger advantage because of less restrictions, hopefully SEAL Team will be able to dig deeper into the characters and we’ll be able to see different sides of them. And perhaps the show will gain more critical acclaim, as Boreanaz hopes.
Despite the complex but realistic storylines, SEAL Team’s lack of recognition from critics is not altogether shocking, as there have been plenty of shows that have been overlooked by critics that rightfully deserve at least some recognition. With SEAL Team’s move to Paramount+, hopefully critics will start paying attention to the military drama. David Boreanaz is not going down without a fight and it looks like he’s looking forward to telling more stories regardless.
The first four seasons of SEAL Team are streaming on Paramount+, with Season 5 premiering this fall on Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on CBS before moving to the streaming platform.
