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SEAL Team season 7 provides viewers with a closer look at the tense and dangerous missions of elite Navy SEALs. Initially aired on CBS, the show transitioned to Paramount+ for its sixth season.
Besides featuring intense action sequences from high-stakes missions, SEAL Team season 7 delves into the personal challenges faced by members of an elite military team. With the complex narrative of the life of Navy SEALs in the show, fans couldn't help but wonder if what the show portrays is authentic.
While the show isn't based on a true story, the production and cast aim to authentically depict the struggles and thoughts of Bravo Team members and their loved ones. Moreover, SEAL Team has earned a "This Is Our Six" recognition, a certification that highlights its commitment to correctly portraying the complex life of being a soldier.
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SEAL Team season 7 showcases the conflicts and sacrifices of military duty
SEAL Team's commitment to accurately portray military life is evident in its depiction of the physical and mental struggles faced by SEAL members and their families. While the missions and daring escapades of the Bravo Team are entirely fictional, their way of life portrayed in the show is relatable to those who have lived it themselves.
One of the series' major draws is its focus on the issues the families of Navy SEALs face. For instance, David Boreanaz's Jason Hayes confronts family conflict in SEAL Team season 7 episode 6, when he goes home for his son's surgery, only to realize that there are far more problems his family faces, like Mikey's overdose.
Balancing military duty and family life is also central to Neil Brown Jr.'s Ray Perry's storyline. In the early episodes of season 7, Ray and Naima's family life is tested when he has to go on another mission on short notice, leaving Naima to hold down the fourth at Spencer House.
David Boreanaz's Jason Hayes's traumatic brain injury (TBI) is also a significant subject in SEAL Team season 7. It is another accurate portrayal of the consequences that military men face after combat. As per a February 2024 report by JAMA Network, TBI has become one of the most common battle wounds among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Toni Trucks, who plays Lieutenant Lisa Davis, told The Morning News Show in 2018 that the military certified the show as "This Is Our Six." This prestigious honor recognizes SEAL Team's effort to accurately portray the lives of brave military men and women.
SEAL Team's cast and crew include US military veterans
SEAL Team season 7 has ensured accurate portrayals of the subtleties of combat and military life for years by hiring former military operators in their cast and crew.
Tyler Grey, who plays Bravo Team's Trent Sawyer, is a former US Army Delta Force operator and was a sniper for the Army Rangers. While he wasn't a Navy SEAL, Grey has plenty of combat experience, which he brought as an advisor, actor, and story editor for the show. He is credited as a story editor for the latest eight episodes of SEAL Team season 7. He has also directed three episodes: Unbecoming an Officer, Do No Harm, and Need to Know.
David Boreanaz said on the Rachel Ray Show in 2019 that they have "hired almost 100 veterans" to be part of the series. Moreover, the show was Mark Owen's brainchild long before Benjamin Cavell developed it for television. Owen is a former Navy SEAL and serves as one of the executive producers of the show.
Mark Semos, who played John "TJ" Monero in the second season, is another former Navy SEAL. He was first a consulting producer before playing TJ in the long-running series and is still part of SEAL Team season 7 as a co-executive producer. Talking about the accuracy and "authenticity level" of the military flick, he told ATRG in 2020:
"The authenticity level of SEAL Team is truly a team effort. It starts in the writers' room and every single screenwriter works hard to maintain the standard and still tell the stories we need to tell. Then, on set, the effort continues with our directors and actors all striving to maintain the standards."
Semos added that Tyler Grey "usually holds down the fort on set."
SEAL Team is committed to honoring those they represent by "shooting it for real"
The SEAL Team season 7 cast is committed to honoring those they represent on screen in different ways. One example is the cast and crew keeping it authentic by shooting many of their stunts "for real." Boreanaz previously told Men's Journal, as quoted by Collider, about "not doing it on a green screen." He said:
"We pride in putting ourselves in the elements and shooting it for real. [That means] we're getting into a Black Hawk and going up—we're not doing it on a green screen."
AJ Buckley, who plays Sonny in SEAL Team, has shared many behind-the-scenes moments of SEAL Team season 7 on his Instagram. This includes shooting an explosion scene, which Buckley called his "Antonio Banderas, Desperado moment. In the BTS clip, Sonny and Raffi Barsoumian's Omar were walking away from an exploding aircraft, which Buckley said had "burnt the hairs off the back of my a**."
He also shared a BTS where he was seen running on top of a moving train, which he shot with the help of his stunt double. Another one was of him shooting a scene with a script that said, "After the blast, Sonny can't see with all the dirt in his face." Buckley called the scene #METHODdirtinfaceACTING, where his co-star, Tyler Grey, who plays Trent, helped cover his face with dirt to shoot the sequence.
David Boreanaz also kept it authentic when shooting for the SEAL Team, like using an actual SEAL helmet instead of a prop. He told Parade in 2019:
"I could wear a lighter [prop] helmet, but I decided to wear his [Mark Owen] actual helmet to honor him, and I will do that throughout the whole series of its run."
SEAL Team season 7 is currently streaming on Paramount+.
