Sony Pictures Television has ordered a 10-episode spinoff titled “S.W.A.T. Exiles,” bringing Shemar Moore back as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson only days after the parent drama ended its eight-season run on CBS.
The series opens with a botched mission that drags Hondo out of semi-retirement to shape a unit of untested recruits, a premise writer-producer Jason Ning—fresh off Lucifer—believes will spotlight generational tensions inside law enforcement.
Sony green-lit Exiles without a U.S. network, betting the compact order will suit streamers; president Katherine Pope calls ten episodes the “sweet spot” for modern storytelling while hinting that the new show and its predecessor now occupy a shared universe.
Filming is slated to begin in Los Angeles this summer, with roughly 200 crew members from the original series—line producer Jim Scura among them—retaining their jobs despite the franchise’s repeated cancellations and revivals.
Cast reactions have been mixed: longtime regular David Lim said the announcement “stung,” arguing that the original ensemble, not a single lead, was the show’s heartbeat, while Jay Harrington echoed feeling “brushed aside” after eight seasons. Sony executives counter that “fan-favorite” characters are likely to appear alongside Moore, maintaining continuity for viewers who logged a billion collective viewing hours across the mothership’s run.
