Sky has picked up the UK rights to ‘S.W.A.T. Exiles’, the new spin-off from the hit US action drama ‘S.W.A.T.’, bringing Shemar Moore (Criminal Minds) back into action as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson. The series will arrive on Sky One in November, with the broadcaster kicking things off with a double bill.
For fans who thought they’d seen the last of Hondo when the original series wrapped up its eight-season run in 2025, it turns out retirement isn’t quite as permanent as it might seem, particularly when you’re one of television’s most experienced tactical team leaders.
The new 10-episode series picks up after a high-profile mission goes horribly wrong, leaving Hondo forced into retirement. However, when the LAPD needs someone to take charge of an experimental S.W.A.T. unit, he’s pulled back into action.
There’s just one rather significant problem. Instead of his familiar team of experienced officers, Hondo finds himself leading a collection of untested, unpredictable young recruits who don’t necessarily share his approach to policing. With clashing personalities, a generational divide and plenty of attitude to contend with, he’ll have to turn this group of outsiders into a functioning tactical unit before they get themselves, or someone else, killed.
Alongside Moore, the new team includes Lucy Barrett (Charmed), Adain Bradley (All American), Zyra Gorecki (La Brea), Freddy Miyares (When They See Us) and Ronen Rubinstein (9-1-1: Lone Star).
While the series introduces a new squad, there will also be some familiar faces popping up. Jay Harrington (Better Off Ted) returns as Sergeant David “Deacon” Kay, alongside Patrick St. Esprit (The Hunger Games) as Commander Robert Hicks. David Lim (Quantico) is also set to reprise his role as Victor Tan later in the season.
Behind the scenes, Jason Ning (Lucifer) serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside franchise veteran Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Moore, James Scura and Jon Cowan.
The journey to getting ‘S.W.A.T. Exiles’ onto screens has been a rather unusual one. Following the cancellation of the original series by CBS, Sony Pictures Television decided it wasn’t quite ready to give up on the franchise. Rather than waiting for a network or streaming service to order the spin-off, Sony took the bold step of financing and producing the entire first season independently, before shopping it around to potential broadcasters.
When we covered the first images back in February, we suggested Sky looked like the most obvious UK home for the series, given its history with US procedural dramas. It seems that prediction has paid off!
In the US, the series eventually landed at STARZ, where it began airing in September. And Sony clearly has plenty of confidence in Hondo’s continued appeal, as it renewed the spin-off for a second season back in August, before the first episode had even aired.
For UK viewers, Sky One will launch the series with the first two episodes back-to-back, giving audiences a proper introduction to Hondo’s new collection of tactical misfits.
After eight seasons, multiple cancellations and an entirely new spin-off, you do have to wonder whether anyone will ever successfully get Hondo to hand in his badge for good. Somehow, we suspect not!
‘S.W.A.T. Exiles’ Season 1 premieres Sunday, 8th November 2026 at 9pm on Sky One in the UK, launching with a double bill. It premiered Friday, 25th September 2026 on STARZ in the US.
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