David Boreanaz on Knowing It Was the ‘Right Time’ to End ‘SEAL Team’ (Exclusive)

SEAL Team on Sunday, Oct. 6, and David Boreanaz spoke to PopCulture.com about what made him come to the decision. It was announced last year that the CBS-turned-Paramount+ military drama would be ending after Season 7. It wasn’t canceled, though, as Boreanaz, who not only stars on the series but serves as executive producer, “decided it was gonna be the last one.”

“It was me that said, ‘I met this character to where I needed it to be,’” he shared. “I decided that this character had found its place. I had proclaimed that to the sources that I needed to say, and I found inside myself that physically, it was the right time. On top of tackling this matter of how does this character deal with his first kill, we have done the TBI storyline. It was a journey and a process that, if you wanna talk Joseph Campbell, he’s went to the underworld and he came back, and we’ll see on Sunday whether or not he makes it. But I will say that it was a glorious process, and I was so very excited because when I crossed that finish line in Colombia, it was just a lot of champagne.”

Considering many shows are being canceled lately, it’s rare when a series is able to end on its own terms. Not because of the network, but because the actors, producers, writers, or whoever feels it’s the right time and give the story and characters the chance to have closure or at least as much as the story allows. “Going out on top of doing that has allowed us to really fully see the full circle of this type of character,” Boreanaz shared. “Now, does he end in a full circle, or does he spiral out? And when I say spiral out, I mean, does he find balance in his life and with what he does in order to be successful in his journey, or does he just have to turn out and chase his town? So, being able to present that and do that is the end of the series. And for us, it was like it was right there.”

“The table was set, and we’re so thankful that we could do that,” he continued. “But again, you can’t have that moment if you don’t have the first moment. Right? I remember the first day that I was shipped in, and I went to New Orleans and I saved the show. And they were four days in, and they were suffering. And they knew if I’m not showing up, this is gonna be DOA on delivery. Put that on my shoulders and accept it, but work on that. Right? To bring the cast and the crew together. It was very, very exciting for me. And so you have to think of those first moments in order to get up there and get to the next day and then the third day. And then here we are, and it goes by so fast. Being on many successful series, I’m so proud of this point in particular because of the amount of physicality of it. And again, like I said, crossing that finish line was great to do it on my terms.”

Fans will have to tune in this Sunday, Oct. 6 on Paramount+ to see how the stories wrap up because when David Boreanaz teased the series finale to PopCulture, he stayed pretty vague about it. It will be nerve-wracking and exciting to watch, but knowing that the show is ending on its own terms and the terms of Boreanaz, the outcome will be worth it, no matter how it ends.