SEAL Team ended its sixth season, leaving us questioning the place Bravo goes from right here, contemplating that your complete group — and different SEALs — spoke up as Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) confronted command after going public along with his TBI.
But we have now extra burning questions for a possible Season 7 than that. (The collection has but to be renewed by Paramount+, neither is there any phrase about that film that was introduced in February). Was the episode during which Clay died the final time we’ll see Max Thieriot? What modified on account of killing him off? We turned to showrunner Spencer Hudnut to get solutions to these and extra.
Is it attainable we’d see Max once more in a flashback sooner or later?
Spencer Hudnut: We’ve carried out issues like that previously. I simply suppose a part of this choice was that simply to complete Max’s work this season was such a battle. The thought of having the ability to plan forward and determine that out simply appears onerous, however we’ll by no means say no to something. Clay’s legacy will stay on inside the present. And yeah, if there’s a chance the place we may do one thing like that, I’d be all for it as a result of he’s such an enormous a part of the present.
How a lot would Stella (Alona Tal) be a part of Season 7?
I feel she will certainly be a part of it. In making that call, if Clay and Stella drove off from the sundown, you [would] lose each these characters. One of the exceptional issues concerning the navy is the best way this household and group come collectively and displaying that, displaying how individuals step up in instances of tragedy. Something we’ve sort of misplaced on this nation is that sense of group. Highlighting that and displaying these individuals coming collectively for one another, which is what makes the larger navy household so particular, is one thing that we undoubtedly need to do. And I feel there are issues we need to do with Ben [Joey Pollari] that’ll clearly tie in along with her. So yeah, my hope is that we see a good quantity of her.
Monty Brinton/Paramount+
Is there something you may share about the way forward for SEAL Team that’s new since we final spoke?
No. As I speak about Season 7, it’s all hopeful. It’s solely in my head. So I hope for everybody that we’ll get excellent news ahead of later. At the top of the day, if we get to make extra SEAL Team, that’s implausible. I actually really feel like our followers who’ve made this journey over to Paramount+ with us deserve the chance to see these characters by means of their journeys. We on the present actually need to have the ability to ship that to them. So yeah, this isn’t the meant ending of the present. If on the finish of the day, the brotherhood, the fellows stepping up for Jason and displaying that love and connection they share, is the very last thing we do, I’ll be OK with it, however there’s much more story to inform and we’re hopeful that we get to try this.
What else are you able to say about your plans for a Season 7?
We’re so early within the course of. Because of the uncertainty round Max, we began the season with Clay shedding his leg. Unfortunately, we killed Clay within the eighth episode. There was a darkish cloud over the season in loads of methods. Obviously, there’s at all times gonna be adversities, there’s at all times gonna be traumas. This is a present about warfare and its affect on the women and men who struggle it and their households. But I feel transferring ahead, we need to present hope. These guys have gone by means of a lot. We need to spotlight their victories. This was a really onerous season, not simply from a manufacturing standpoint however on the viewers. And my hope is that possibly a Season 7 may very well be a bit of lighter, have a bit of extra hope, and see our characters proceed to work in the direction of getting themselves into higher locations.
What are you able to say about your plans for Clay and for Bravo that you just needed to change since you needed to write him out?
Going again, even from the beginning of the present, it felt like — I usually speak about this with Chris Chulack as a result of from his ER days — to us, Clay was virtually just like the Noah Wyle character [Dr. John Carter]. It’s from his POV of him becoming a member of Bravo group. It felt like he would clearly at all times have an enormous position within the story and no matter occurred with Bravo group. So yeah, it’s dramatically impacted my roadmap of the place I assumed this may be going. But in a means, as a author, you sort of like these challenges. You like to color your self right into a nook after which get your self out of it.
Jason will at all times be the heartbeat of the present. That was by no means gonna change. And so I feel there’s loads of good story to inform. As I preserve saying, it’s unlucky that we ever bought on this scenario with Max, however we’re very pleased with what he’s doing [on Fire Country], and we’re enthusiastic about what we will now do at SEAL Team. So it’s loads of great things nonetheless forward for us, hopefully.
Did the plan for Bravo, generally, this season keep just about what you had? Or did you alter something due to writing out Clay?
If Clay had pushed off into the sundown, I feel it is likely to be onerous for a few of these dominoes to fall the best way they did. There wouldn’t be a struggle to choose up for Clay [for Jason]. So no, all of it kind of had a domino impact. I feel it might be onerous to get these characters and Bravo group into this case had Clay not died so tragically, and so it undoubtedly had an affect.
So the op and the place Omar (Raffi Barsoumian) landed with the group would’ve stayed the identical, although?
Yes, we have been at all times gonna be in Syria. The hunt for the final was at all times gonna be the identical. Omar got here in earlier than we knew Clay’s destiny for certain. We knew Clay wasn’t gonna be on the group. But there was a world clearly the place Clay was gonna work his means again. With him being the star and govt producer of a 22-episode community present, that wasn’t ever gonna occur. So it had an affect on how we ended for certain.
And Omar is now a everlasting member of Bravo if there’s a Bravo?
Yeah, he proved himself to his Bravo teammates. I feel Omar hopefully proved himself to the followers. We hinted at a pair issues about his backstory, however transferring ahead, we’re gonna get to know Omar on a way more private stage. And he and Jason fashioned a bond in the previous few episodes. I feel he’s a part of the Bravo household transferring ahead.
Did you ever contemplate killing off one other member of Bravo within the finale? They didn’t have a lot cowl throughout the shootout…
No, they didn’t. Yeah, they have been clearly in jeopardy, however I feel seeing them come collectively was at all times the objective. No, I couldn’t abdomen one other [loss]. The Clay choice was so painful. This is a present about warfare, and I feel it might be naive on our half to anticipate there to be no extra bloodshed transferring ahead, however the lack of Clay was simply too highly effective. To lose one other character on the heels of that may be overly merciless and painful for all of us. That’s to not say it could possibly’t occur down the highway.
With these characters that we’re invested in, we are going to proceed to point out them battle, but in addition hopefully overcome any obstacles of their means and hopefully get them to locations the place they’re completely satisfied of their lives.