How Accurate Is ‘SEAL Team’?

If you’re still looking for an excellent long-running military show to binge, then look no further than SEAL Team. In the wake of Hollywood-produced dramas where everything can feel simulated and overblown, this CBS-turned-Paramount+ drama goes the extra step to make sure they’re honoring the real-life heroes who’ve come before, which is no small feat. But how accurate is SEAL Team really when it comes down to it? Believe it or not, this network-to-streaming series is more authentic than most, and it’s mighty proud of those who work on their team.

‘SEAL Team’ Is Committed to Authentic Portrayals of American Heroes

From the moment SEAL Team aired on CBS, the creators of the show aimed to make the series as authentic as possible. From the very helmet that star David Boreanaz wears to the veterans employed in the writer’s room, SEAL Team fights to capture the harsh realities that America’s finest have to live through, both on and off the battlefield. The series itself was inspired by executive producer (and former Navy SEAL) Mark Owen, who wrote the memoir No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden about his time in the service and his part in the assassination of the titular terrorist leader. With someone like Owen aiding in the series’ initial development, SEAL Team was already one step ahead of most military dramas.

But the show wasn’t satisfied with just one former SEAL as a member of their development team. Other servicemen and women, including former Navy SEALs, have been added to the show’s cast and crew over the years to help keep that authenticity alive and up-to-date. “We’ve got a ton of veterans involved, and it’s super exciting to see the talent they bring to the table,” Mark Owen explained in a CBS featurette on the series that aired in 2020. Two of these veterans in particular, Mark Semos and Tyler Grey, have consistently been thrust into the SEAL Team spotlight, both on and off camera.

A former SEAL himself, Semos serves in the writer’s room of SEAL Team to help juxtapose the successes and horrors of combat with the rocky home life that so many of these operators face. That, of course, is one of the major draws of SEAL Team: how the show highlights the issues the families of Navy SEALs face when their loved ones do come home. On the other hand, Grey, who served in the U.S. Army’s Special Operations, gets to help guide the cast and crew on set while playing Trent Sawyer (and occasionally as a director too), a recurring character who has appeared in nearly 100 episodes since the show’s first season. Talk about authenticity.

‘SEAL Team’ Was Awarded a Certificate of Authenticity From American Veterans

What’s equally impressive is that the show, which according to David Boreanaz has hired over 100 veterans, has also earned brownie points with GotYour6, a non-profit network that helps veterans find success after leaving the service. Back in 2018 on The Morning News Show, actress Toni Trucks revealed that SEAL Team was “This Is Our Six” certified by the military, a prestigious honor that highlighted the show’s commitment to accurately portraying the lives of these brave men and women. “[Hollywood] can always portray service men and women as, you know, either the hero or the victim,” Trucks added. “That certification is saying that you’re capturing all the aspects of what it means to be a soldier.”

Clearly, with members of the U.S. military backing the show, which has gone on now for six seasons and survived previous network cancelation, there’s something that SEAL Team is doing right. While the actual missions and characters themselves are entirely fictional (it’s not like the military would let them use classified information), the way of life that’s portrayed is relatable to those who have lived it themselves, as well as their families. “I like the fact that Jason is so conflicted, internally, being a Navy SEAL Tier 1 guy,” Boreanaz told Collider in an exclusive interview. “Their brains and their mentalities are really just wired to go. They don’t think about it, they just go. So, when you have moments with family, you have to downshift.” That’s not something we see in most military-focused dramas, even the best ones.

Part of what SEAL Team does so well is capturing the intricacies of thought that each member of Bravo Team struggles with. Some soldiers miss important family moments (such as the birth of their first child) that they can’t get back. Many of them justify their absence as protecting their family from further harm, but that doesn’t always fly with those stuck at home, unsure if their loved ones will make it back to them or not. The complexities that this series addresses are only enhanced by who is in the writer’s room––not to mention those on set who’ve been through those exact scenarios––which is one of the many things that something that sets SEAL Team apart as unique.

‘SEAL Team’ Might Not Be Based on a True Story, but It Is Authentic

Of course, the show doesn’t get everything right at all times, though they do their absolute best to be sure that the way things are done on-screen meshes with how the actual U.S. military does them. “On every other show or movie project that I’ve ever been involved with, it’s always started with a studio or a big producer,” Tyler Grey revealed in an interview with Military.com. “It starts with somebody in Hollywood going, ‘Hey, I want to make this show about the military,’ regardless of unit, service, whatever. And then it kind of trickles down from the top. Usually, the script is written before they even get someone with military experience involved.” With SEAL Team, that was not the case. Instead, the concept started with Mark Owen’s involvement and grew into something bigger from there.

“They’ve really allowed more veteran involvement than I’ve ever seen or heard of [in a film or TV project],” Grey noted, which is, of course, part of why the show is so well received. Additionally, Grey explains that while the show isn’t real, it gives off the impression of being authentic. “That’s our goal. That’s everyone’s goal. I want veterans, active duty, and veterans and active duty’s families to watch it, and the public that has no connection maybe to veterans in the military, to watch it and just go, “Oh, I understand these people and their families better.” So far, SEAL Team seems to be doing just that.

‘SEAL Team’ Is Returning for a Seventh Season Soon

Though SEAL Team has been off the air for a while, the show has been renewed for a seventh (and sadly final) season, set to premiere sometime on Paramount+ in 2024. The series ended its sixth season with a bang, however, with main cast member Max Thieriot, who played Clay Spenser in the first six seasons of the series, noticeably absent. Thieriot left SEAL Team to give his full attention to his newest series, Fire Country, which even features Thieriot’s SEAL Team co-star A.J. Buckley as a co-producer.

But even without Clay returning, Bravo Team has a final batch of SEAL Team adventures coming up, and the tight-knit band of American heroes will no doubt carry on in their fallen brother’s honor. Despite being canceled by CBS, the network has been airing the back half of SEAL Team‘s catalog following their shortage of content for the Fall 2023 television season. The series can be watched on the network every Thursday night in addition to being streamed in its entirety on its current home, Paramount+. Stay tuned for more information on SEAL Team‘s return date heading into the show’s final hours.

If you’re still looking for an excellent long-running military show to binge, then look no further than SEAL Team. In the wake of Hollywood-produced dramas where everything can feel simulated and overblown, this CBS-turned-Paramount+ drama goes the extra step to make sure they’re honoring the real-life heroes who’ve come before, which is no small feat. But…