SIX arrived on History in January 2017 with an eight-episode order and a clear pitch: the real missions of Navy SEAL Team Six, the unit formally known as U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU. The series ran two seasons and 18 episodes, premiering January 18, 2017 and ending August 1, 2018. History cancelled it in June 2018. It scores 5.4/10, with a Metacritic score of 54/100.
Trailer, via HISTORY.
Joe Graves and the DEVGRU Premise
The show was created by William Broyles Jr. and David Broyles, with Lesli Linka Glatter directing the first two episodes. Its stated subject is DEVGRU, one of the U.S. Armed Forces’ primary counter-terrorism units, and the series follows both the operators’ missions and their daily lives at home.
Barry Sloane leads as Joe Graves. Kyle Schmid plays Alex Caulder, Juan Pablo Raba plays Ricky Ortiz, and Edwin Hodge plays Robert Chase. Olivia Munn plays Gina Cline, Dominic Adams plays Michael Nasry, and Jaylen Moore plays Armin Khan. The cast also includes Brianne Davis as Lena Graves, Nadine Velazquez as Jackie Ortiz, Jessica Garza as Anabel Ortiz, and Eric Ladin as Trevor.
That is a full roster for a show that only got 18 episodes. The premise promises two things at once, combat and domestic life, and the split is where SIX does its most uneven work.
Two Seasons, Two Halves
Season one ran eight episodes. Season two added 10 more in 2018 before History pulled the plug. The genre tags tell the story of the show’s identity problem: War & Politics, Drama, Crime, Action & Adventure. That is four lanes for one series, and SIX never settles into any of them.
The military material is the draw. The home-front material is the drag.
Where SIX Ranks Against Its Own Ambitions
Judged as a counter-terrorism procedural, SIX has the pieces: a real unit as its subject, a capable ensemble, and a creator with a journalism and screenwriting background in William Broyles Jr. Judged as prestige drama, it falls short of what its cast should support.
- The DEVGRU mission structure, the show’s clearest strength.
- The ensemble, led by Sloane and Schmid, which outclasses the writing.
- The home-front storylines, which dilute the action and stall momentum.
- The four-genre spread, which keeps SIX from committing to a tone.
A 5.4/10 is not a dismissal of the cast. It is a verdict on a series that had a strong subject and never found the discipline to match it.
What the Cancellation Actually Says
History ordered eight episodes, renewed for 10, then ended the show in June 2018. The finale aired August 1, 2018, after the cancellation announcement. Two seasons is a short run, but 18 episodes is enough to see what SIX was: a solid action framework carrying stories it did not need.
The comparison that matters is internal. Every time SIX cuts from an operation to a marriage, it trades its best asset for its weakest one. The operators are the show. The living rooms are the tax.
That is the whole review in one line. SIX had a unit worth building around and spent too much of its 18 episodes looking away from it.
Fans of the military procedural will find enough in the DEVGRU material to justify the first season. Anyone hoping the second season corrects course will find more of the same, and then no third season to fix it.
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