Shemar Moore Confirms S.W.A.T. Exiles’ Timeline After CBS Series Finale

EXCLUSIVE: With just days to go until S.W.A.T. Exiles premieres on Starz, Shemar Moore has just revealed how soon after the original series this new spinoff takes place.

Moore reprises his role as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson Jr. from S.W.A.T., which aired for eight seasons on CBS and centered on the sergeant as he oversaw the Los Angeles Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics team. The network attempted to cancel S.W.A.T. multiple times, but the series survived each time—until 2025, when the third cancellation actually stuck.

Sony quickly began developing a spinoff, which is about to debut on Starz. S.W.A.T. Exiles premieres on September 25, almost a year-and-a-half after S.W.A.T.‘s series finale.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for our S.W.A.T. Exiles cover story, Moore revealed that the spinoff is set two years after its predecessor. The original characters still exist in the S.W.A.T. universe, even if most of them won’t be seen on screen again.

Moore, who previously starred on Criminal Minds, explained that as time has passed in this universe, “politics have been taken over.” Now, Hondo is leading a new experimental S.W.A.T. team with the LAPD. However, he’s really got his work cut out for him now because his subordinates are “a bunch of Bad News Bears rugrats” that are untested and inexperienced.

Now out of retirement, Hondo needs to train them to be “bada** superheroes,” but “they can’t get out of their own way, and that’s on purpose by the machine.” After all, the team consists of LAPD rejects, so they’re inevitably being “set up to fail.”

According to Moore, it’s on Hondo to “defy the odds” and transform the team into something that no one thought was possible. It’s a daunting task, but if anyone can do it, it’s Hondo.

ScreenRant: “Was it always the plan for Exiles to be a show about Hondo and a new squad, or was there maybe originally an idea of having it be a proper sequel with the OG squad back? Or are you maybe saving that for the future of the show?”

Shemar Moore: “Well, the world of the OG squad, the mothership, the world, all those characters still exist. This is still the S.W.A.T. universe, it’s just two years later, and politics have been taken over, and the word ‘exiles’ is twofold. You got a bunch of Bad News Bears rugrats that Hondo has brought together, and he has to train them into being badass superheroes and they can’t get out of their own way, and that’s on purpose by the machine. He’s been given a team that is just set up to fail and so, of course, Hondo’s going to have to take on that challenge, and defy the odds and basically turn them into something nobody believed they could be.”

Aside from Moore, S.W.A.T. Exiles also stars Ronen Rubinstein, Freddy Miyares, Zyra Gorecki, Lucy Barrett and Adain Bradley. S.W.A.T. alums Jay Harrington, Patrick St. Esprit and David Lim will make guest appearances during the first season as David “Deacon” Kay, Robert Hicks and Victor Tan, respectively.

Jason Ning created the series after working on shows like Crossing Jordan, 90210, The Expanse and Lucifer. He and Moore are also executive-producing with Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, James Scura and Jon Cowan.

S.W.A.T. Exiles joins a list of other dramas on Starz like Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which is currently airing its second season, and P-Valley, which comes back for season 3 on December 4.

Crime drama Fightland will end its first season directly before the S.W.A.T. Exiles series premiere. The premium cable network is also working on Power: Origins and has greenlit Power: Legacy.

The S.W.A.T. franchise may have moved from CBS to Starz for its spinoff, but Hondo’s still the same tough and talented leader, even if his task this time around is more formidable.

S.W.A.T. Exiles premieres Friday, September 25 at 10 p.m. EDT on Starz.