Cinemax has renewed long-running action-packed drama Strike Back for a seventh and final season.
Strike Back has just received orders for its final mission.
While the currently-running sixth season of Strike Back only just launched on January 25, Cinemax wasted little time issuing a preemptive renewal for a seventh season of the firearms-and-espionage action thriller. However, the swift greenlight comes with the caveat that Season 7 will mark the end of the series.
The series, which follows the intense exploits of a deadly, internationally-operating government-disavowed British special ops team, called Section 20, has seen its gun-toting team save the world from terrorist cells and even nuclear global catastrophe. However, the team is set to tackle one last global threat before riding off into the proverbial Cinemax sunset.
As Kary Antholis, president, HBO Miniseries and CINEMAX Programming, states of the move:
“STRIKE BACK established CINEMAX as a destination for adrenalized, entertaining action series nearly a decade ago. It is with sincere gratitude for the service of all of the past and present members of Section 20 — both in front of and behind the camera — that we send the team of on one last mission to save the world from annihilation.”
The series – which originally centered around Sgt. Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton) and Sgt. Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester) – revamped itself in Season 5, a frame dubbed “Rebirth,” debuting a brand-new lineup of Section 20 team members. The current Season 6 lineup consists of Warren Brown, Daniel MacPherson, Alin Sumarwata, Jamie Bamber and Yasemin Kay Allen. However, the show’s array of alumni – even Stapleton, who’s since moved on to co-star on NBC’s Blindspot– tend to drop by, pick up a rifle and get back into action for an episode or two.
Consequently, Strike Back has built a niche-but-solid following, making the Season 7 news a bittersweet moment for fans. As showrunner Jack Lothian teases of the upcoming final frame:
“I am delighted we’re coming back for a final season. STRIKE BACK is a show that’s always raised the bar for small-screen action, and we’re looking forward to doing that one last time. There are plenty of twists and turns ahead, but I can promise one thing — we’re going out with a bang.”
While Strike Back launched in 2010 in the U.K. on Sky1, the series didn’t manifest in the U.S. until Cinemax started airing (and co-producing,) starting with Season 2, subsequently airing Sky’s Season 1 stateside as Strike Back Origins. Thus, creating much confusion, the upcoming Strike Back Season 7 is billed as Season 8 in the U.K.
Strike Back debuts new episodes on Cinemax Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT, headed for its Season 6 finale on March 29. No release date was revealed for the show’s seventh and final season.
Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.