S.W.A.T. Exiles brings Shemar Moore’s Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson back to Los Angeles with a new assignment and almost an entirely new team. After eight seasons of S.W.A.T., the Starz spinoff faces an immediate challenge: Hondo is a compelling reason to return, but the relationships that made his old squad feel like a family cannot be replaced overnight.
Following a fatal decision that ended his career, Hondo gets a chance to build a tactical unit from officers who have struggled to find their place elsewhere in the LAPD. The recruits are played by Ronen Rubinstein, Lucy Barrett, Adain Bradley, Zyra Gorecki and Freddy Miyares. They have the skills for the job, but becoming a team is another matter.
This review discusses the series’ premise and characters without revealing major twists.
A New Role for Hondo
The smartest choice in Exiles is to make Hondo’s return about more than putting him back in tactical gear. He knows how to command an established unit. Here, he must earn the trust of people who are accustomed to being underestimated, written off or judged by their worst moments. It gives Moore a useful shift in emphasis: Hondo is still capable in the field, but his most consequential decisions may come when he has to guide someone else through a mistake.
Shemar Moore remains the show’s anchor. His presence gives the action an immediate sense of continuity, while the circumstances of Hondo’s return leave room for a less certain version of the character. That uncertainty matters. A leader who has already survived eight seasons of danger needs a challenge that cannot be solved by simply being the most experienced person in the room.
The new squad also gives the series its clearest path forward. Its members bring different strengths and attitudes to an operation, and the friction between them is built into the premise. Exiles is at its most promising when it lets their conflicting approaches affect how they work together, rather than treating each recruit as a personality trait to be overcome before the next mission.
Can the New Squad Find Its Chemistry?
That is also where the spinoff has the most work to do. The original S.W.A.T. spent years developing its ensemble. Viewers knew how Deacon, Tan and the rest of 20-Squad would respond when Hondo pushed them, trusted them or needed their help. Exiles starts with a different dynamic, and its new officers have yet to build that kind of shared history.
The adjustment is especially noticeable because the series retains much of the familiar action format. Tactical operations still provide momentum, and Hondo remains a reassuring presence when a situation turns dangerous. Those scenes deliver the immediate appeal longtime fans expect. Between missions, though, the show needs to give its recruits lives and relationships that extend beyond their place on Hondo’s roster.
There is value in beginning with a team that does not fit neatly together. Watching capable people learn when to rely on one another could become the spinoff’s strongest recurring story. For now, the characters’ differences are more convincing than their bond. That feels like an honest starting point, even if it means the emotional payoff is still ahead of them.
Familiar Action, Different Stakes
Moving to Starz gives Exiles an opportunity to put greater weight on the consequences of a mission and on Hondo’s standing within the department. The premise places his professional future in question before he has even assembled the unit. It is a useful source of pressure because success in the field may not be enough to settle what happened to him or secure the team’s future.
The show still knows the pleasures of a S.W.A.T. story: a fast-moving emergency, a tactical problem that requires coordination and a leader trying to make the right call with little time to spare. The action gives the premiere a firm foundation. The larger test is whether the characters’ decisions will keep mattering once the immediate danger has passed.
Returning viewers may also have mixed feelings about how much of the old squad is absent. Familiar faces can help establish continuity, but the spinoff will ultimately succeed or fail on its new ensemble. Hondo can bring these officers together. The series must make viewers want to spend time with them after he does.
Final Verdict
S.W.A.T. Exiles is a promising, uneven new chapter for Hondo. Moore makes the move to Starz feel worthwhile, and the idea of rebuilding a unit from overlooked officers gives the series a strong direction. The action is dependable; the team chemistry needs time. Fans returning for Hondo will find him in familiar form, while the new recruits have an opportunity to make this spinoff their own.
Hondo Returns With a Team Still Finding Its Feet
Shemar Moore gives the Starz spinoff a strong center, while its new squad needs time to develop the chemistry that made the original series work.
Hondo taking charge of officers who have been overlooked elsewhere and seeing the beginnings of a team.
Shemar Moore, whose authority and familiarity make Hondo’s return immediately engaging.
Dependable tactical action and a mentor role that gives Hondo a fresh challenge.
The new ensemble has not yet built the easy rapport that gave the original squad its emotional pull.
When Is S.W.A.T. Exiles on Starz?
S.W.A.T. Exiles premiered Friday, September 25, on Starz, with new episodes arriving weekly. Episode 2, “Take the Shot,” is scheduled for Friday, October 2, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Starz. Episodes are also available through the official S.W.A.T. Exiles page on Starz.
Revisit Hondo’s original team with Seat42F’s S.W.A.T. episode coverage and photos.
Thomas Miller is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Seat42F, covering television, movies and streaming entertainment. He launched Seat42F in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades covering the entertainment industry.
