Hondo is back. Starz has released the trailer for S.W.A.T. Exiles, the spinoff that brings Shemar Moore back as LAPD S.W.A.T. Sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, ahead of its September 25 premiere. The 10-episode series moves the franchise to a new home, with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays on Starz streaming and on-demand.
The setup gives Hondo a reason to start over. After a botched raid ends in the death of a young operator, Nico Reyes, Hondo walks away from the only life he has known. Then his old commanding officer, Robert Hicks, offers him one last shot: build a brand-new S.W.A.T. unit out of Los Angeles' most talented rejects. The trailer wastes no time complicating that, teasing that Hondo suspects there is a mole hiding inside his new squad.
The team Hondo inherits is nobody's idea of a polished unit. The recruits include gun-show influencer Sammy Bishop (Lucy Barrett), socially awkward tactical savant Ethan Cole (Freddy Miyares), the guarded Cassidy Reed (Zyra Gorecki), wildcard Jude Callan (Ronen Rubinstein) and ambitious Malik Anderson (Adain Bradley). Turning that group of outsiders into a team capable of protecting the city is the whole job, and the generational gap between Hondo and his young recruits looks like half the drama.
Fans of the mothership get some continuity. Jay Harrington returns as Sergeant David "Deacon" Kay and Patrick St. Esprit is back as Commander Robert Hicks, tying Exiles to the series Moore anchored for years.
Moore led the S.W.A.T. reboot on its run before the franchise moved to Starz for this next chapter. The original reboot, based on the 1975 series and the 2003 film, ran for years and survived more than one cancellation scare, largely on the strength of Moore's Hondo and a fan base that refused to let it go quietly. Produced by Sony Pictures Television, Exiles keeps the DNA while resetting the board, giving Moore a fresh cast to lead and a new network to win over.
S.W.A.T. Exiles premieres September 25 on Starz. Watch the trailer below.
