Shemar Moore celebrated the renewal of Clap in grand style last night at the CBS Fall Schedule Celebration in Hollywood.
Moore portrayed lead actor Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson for the show’s seven seasons and serves as a producer. Clap is a procedural drama about Hondo, a Los Angeles SWAT lieutenant who balances loyalty to his job and the streets he grew up on. The new episodes will air on Friday at 8 p.m
After six seasons, CBS announced in 2023 that the series was canceled before the network reversed its decision and decided to renew the series for a seventh and final season, which premiered earlier that year. After a passionate campaign led by Moore and the drama’s loyal fans, CBS canceled the show again and announced last month that it had ordered an eighth season.
As the series concludes its seventh season on May 17, you should know that the finale has been viewed as a possible end to the series.
“We were smart,” Moore told Deadline on the red carpet about how the Season 7 finale was handled while the fate of the series was still up in the air. “At the end of the strike, me and the producers and writers got together at my house and I said, ‘Okay, what are we doing this year?’ I said, “If that’s it, let’s go out with a bang.” Let’s give them our signature. Let’s give them action: helicopters, car chases, motorcycle chases, fight scenes, Hondo sprinting down an alley. Let’s rock ’em.’”
He added: “We still have three episodes to complete [airing] this season. So when you get to the finale, you’ll see that we designed it to be either our swansong or our new beginning. We literally didn’t change anything in the text.”
(L-R): Alex Russell as Jim Street, Kenneth “Kenny” Johnson as Dominique Luca
Kenny Johnson and Alex Russell, who played Officer Dominique Luca and Officer Jim Street respectively, bowed out of the series after seven seasons this year. Moore asked whether or not the couple could return now Clap was renewed.
“It’s hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people. Alex Russell, Kenny Johnson and a few seasons ago we lost Lina Esco,” he said. “Change is hard; So now we have a few OGs, myself as Hondo, Deacon [Jay Harrington]Hiccup [Patrick St. Esprit]Tan [David Lim] and some newbies. But none of the people you miss died. And in the world of Hollywood, anything can happen.”
Check out our interview below.