Two years after a fatal operation drove Hondo Harrelson out of the LAPD, he is working private security for a tech entrepreneur. Commander Hicks brings him back to lead a squad of officers who have struggled to find a place in the department. It is an appealing assignment for a disgraced leader: Hondo can rebuild a team while trying to rebuild himself. It also places an uncomfortable question inside the premise. What does his return require the institution to reckon with, and what can a new tactical unit conveniently set aside?
Shemar Moore gives that question some weight. His Hondo carries guilt and keeps people at a distance, even as he remains assured in the field. Moore makes the opportunity to train these recruits feel consequential to a man who has lost his old role. The season’s conspiracy, involving people trying to bring Hondo and S.W.A.T. down and a mole within the new squad, complicates his position as mentor. It may also change how the show treats the investigation that ended his career. Across the first four episodes, his distress is persuasive; the larger question of accountability remains open.
The move from CBS to Starz offers S.W.A.T. Exiles another chance to redefine itself. Its action has a grittier edge, and the dialogue has a little freedom from broadcast restraint. Yet the familiar engine keeps running: trouble calls for tactical intervention, the squad must learn to work together, and a continuing mystery waits between operations. The pilot gives a substantial action sequence room to play, while spending less time on the training that could make this particular unit distinctive. Changing platforms has altered the show’s atmosphere faster than its habits.
Those habits have value. The tactical scenes move with the practiced pace that sustained the earlier series, and Moore still makes Hondo credible at the center of them. The series is also clear about the difference between commanding his established 20-Squad and shaping officers who have barely found a foothold. Hondo cannot rely on years of shared trust with his new recruits. When a story places a possible mole among them, learning to trust the team becomes part of his work, rather than an incidental pause between calls.
The recruits need the same care from the writing. Sammy’s public presence as an influencer gives her an identity beyond the precinct, but some of her dialogue reduces a younger officer to a collection of generational cues. Ethan’s analytical manner and Jude’s troubled reputation are quick ways to distinguish two others.
They are also starting points that need development through decisions and relationships. The friction between Hondo’s approach and the recruits’ ideas can be funny, though it is most promising when they have something to teach him as well. A team assembled from departmental outsiders should be able to ask why each member was pushed aside.
That is where the new cast faces an unusually difficult assignment. Viewers spent eight seasons with the previous squad, watching familiarity accumulate through calls, disagreements, and ordinary time together. Hicks and Deacon’s brief returns bring back that ease, then leave Hondo with colleagues who have to build their own. The newer actors bring energy, and the first four episodes leave room for their relationships to grow. Still, a series cannot introduce replacements and expect the affection attached to the old team to arrive with the theme music.
Exiles understands the comfort of seeing Hondo take charge again. Its better idea is to make him responsible for people he does not yet understand, at a moment when his own judgment is under scrutiny. If the recruits gain room to challenge their assigned roles, the show could discover a reason for this squad to exist beyond keeping a familiar franchise in motion. The question remains how Hondo will earn the authority the series is so ready to give back to him.
S.W.A.T.: Exiles premieres on Starz on September 25, 2026. The action drama series follows Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson as he comes out of retirement to whip an experimental and unpredictable squad of young recruits into shape.
Where to Watch S.W.A.T.: Exiles Online
Full Credits
Title: S.W.A.T.: Exiles
Distributor: Starz
Release date: September 25, 2026
Rating: TV-14
Running time: 60 minutes per episode
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Writers: Jason Ning
Producers and Executive Producers: Jason Ning, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Shemar Moore, James Scura, Jon Cowan
Cast: Shemar Moore, Ronen Rubinstein, Freddy Miyares, Zyra Gorecki, Lucy Barrett, Adain Bradley, Jay Harrington, Patrick St. Esprit
The Review
S.W.A.T. Exiles
S.W.A.T. Exiles gives Hondo a credible second chance and its new squad a promising reason to question his authority. Shemar Moore carries the transition, while the tactical action retains its pace. After four episodes, though, the recruits remain closer to introductions than a team, and the move to Starz has changed the atmosphere faster than the storytelling. The series asks Hondo to earn back trust; it should give his officers equal room to decide if he deserves it.
PROS
- Moore gives Hondo’s return weight
- Brisk tactical action
- A promising new team dynamic
CONS
- Recruits remain thinly developed
- Sammy’s dialogue leans on generational shorthand
- The familiar procedural rhythm limits the relaunch
