After only Shemar Moore was confirmed to appear in the S.W.A.T. spinoff, new details about cast replacements have been announced.
TVLine confirmed on Wednesday, July 9, that filming for S.W.A.T.: Exiles is starting in the middle of September and casting is currently underway. The show is looking for “a charismatic, Black former Marine from South Central and an undercover cop with a questionable shooting in his past.” There is also a search for actors to play “an amputee who was at the top of her class at the academy and refuses to ride a desk, a tactical prodigy with a disruptive lack of social skills and a former beauty queen who now works as a law enforcement ‘influencer.’”
The glimpse into the new characters comes after Sony Pictures Television announced a spinoff starring only Moore, 55, from the OG show. The decision received backlash since Jay Harrington, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit, Anna Enger Ritch, Annie Ilonzeh and Niko Pepaj also took part in efforts to revive the series following multiple cancellations over the years.
Moore stood by the decision, saying in a May Instagram video, “Nobody likes change. I understand that. I get it 100 percent. But without change, you can’t grow. You can’t win without taking your lumps. It ain’t easy making it in the game of Hollywood. It ain’t. TV shows don’t last eight years anymore. The game has changed. But S.W.A.T. Exiles, baby! S.W.A.T. Exiles. Bigger, bolder. S.W.A.T. on steroids.”
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He continued: “I’m not saying I’m Tom Brady, but I’m the Tom Brady of S.W.A.T. That’s not arrogant. That’s not ego. It’s a fact. I’m the quarterback. I’m Shemar Moore, a.k.a Hondo. But I had a squad. A strong squad. A family. A team. And I would be remiss If I didn’t say out loud to the world and to them — because I know they’re watching this — I love you. I respect you. I appreciate you.”
Lim, 41, who has been with the show since season 1, was the first cast member to officially break his silence on the drama.
“I’d be lying if I said the rollout of the new spinoff didn’t sting. It was tough to see it announced just two days after our finale — with no mention of the cast who helped build S.W.A.T. from day one,” he wrote via Instagram in May. “After eight incredible seasons, it felt like we were brushed aside when there could’ve been a moment of reflection and recognition — for the people who built this show, and for the impact it had on so many.”
Sony Pictures TV President Katherine Pope has since weighed in on the possibility of surprise appearances from fan-favorite characters, telling Variety in June, “There is a clear world that we’re exploring here. We’re still putting it all together, but for sure, I think you can expect some of your favorites to be a part of it in some way.”
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Pope noted that the shows now exist in their own “universe,” while Exiles is “a bit of a take on the culture generation clash of Gen X versus Gen Z.”
“Where Hondo is all about duty, hierarchy and chain of command, the Gen Zers are a little more like, ‘I might need to take a mental health day. I want to talk about it. I want to understand it,’” Pope teased about the upcoming series. “It’s kind of our take on Top Gun: Maverick.”
Pope continued: “How do we build bridges around not just generational divides, but all forms of divide? There’s a lot of division going on in our world. If we just took some time to listen and to try and be part of a team, and what that really means, it would probably be better for all of us.”
