Shemar Moore, SWAT: Exiles
Starz
S.W.A.T. is the show that won’t give up. CBS tried to cancel the procedural after six seasons in 2023, but star Shemar Moore took to social media and stirred the fan base into a frenzy that convinced the network to reconsider. The network tried the same move one year later, but Moore just went back to the fans online, and CBS backed down again. The Season 8 finale felt like it was the last hurrah for Hondo and the team, but then Starz stepped in and is bringing Moore back for another round of adventure in a spin-off.
S.W.A.T.: Exiles premieres on the cable network on Friday with Moore still in the center of the drama, but he’s got a whole new team. Moving to Starz also lets the creative team change the tone and the subject matter S.W.A.T. can tackle.
“We’re going to show Starz that they made the right decision,” Moore promises to TV Guide. “It’s still the same song. That means you’re going to have helicopter chases, intense, crazy action. We’re going to be superhero cops chasing down bad guys, doing cool stuff, but there’s a little twist in it,” the actor teases. “Hondo’s world is a little darker and not so easy. There’s a more human element, which I like. I like being a hero, but I also like being a flawed hero. He’s a little more flawed, a little darker. He’s a little more humbled.”
Things are definitely not hunky dory for Hondo when we reunite with him. He’s been booted from S.W.A.T. after a cadet died during a mission Hondo was leading. Commander Hicks (Patrick St. Esprit) shows up in the premiere of Exiles to bring Hondo back to the force, but Hondo’s old team is gone, and the new recruits leave a lot to be desired.
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“They are a bunch of rugrats who are not prepared at all to take on life-and-death situations as S.W.A.T. members,” Moore says. “Hondo’s dilemma is he doesn’t know who to trust. Why is the machine against him? How can he build a team without risking lives?”
The newbies were allegedly handpicked by the top brass and include cop-influencer Stephanie Bishop (Lucy Barrett) and Cassidy Han (Zyra Gorecki), an amputee who is desperate to prove she can do the job as well as anyone. Adain Bradley plays Malik Henderson, a former military agent like Hondo who isn’t sure the new boss lives up to his lofty reputation. Jude Callan (Ronen Rubenstein) is the team’s rebel bad boy with a top-secret past, and Ethan Cole (Freddie Miyares) rounds out the crew as the guy behind the desk, or drone, in this very specific case. They each think they are the chosen one for the squad, but it quickly becomes obvious they have no idea how to work as a unit, and that might be by design.
It’s frustrating for Hondo, but Moore is excited about a new challenge for the character. “This show is an evolution. Hondo gets to be a teacher, a mentor,” he says. “Hondo’s already achieved what he’s achieved. Now he just has to sustain and survive, and they can continue the tradition of what he believed in and what he built, all while he finds the truth.”
The actor feels confident that the fan base that saved the show from cancellation three times will love the new adventure, too. “There’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot of division. We’re not a preachy show; we’re not going to talk about politics, but we are going to hit on topical issues that are true to real life. All the while, it’s still a good time, a thrill ride, but thought-provoking with a lot of heart — and now with a lot more gritty edge,” he says. “It’s a bit different, and different can be scary, but once it smacks you in the mouth, it’s going to be good.”
Who can argue with a recommendation like that?
S.W.A.T.: Exiles premieres Friday, Sept. 25 at 10/9c on Starz.