S.W.A.T. finished its eight-season run strong, leaving its dedicated fan base wanting for more. There’s a silver lining to the show ending now that a spinoff is on the horizon.
S.W.A.T. set itself apart from the crop of TV procedurals by delivering a fast-paced, action-packed cop show. Hondo’s Twenty Squad mirrored their real-world counterparts, flawed but dedicated to serving the public alongside their “brothers in blue.” Season 1 also explored heavy themes like discrimination, something Moore addressed in a 2017 Andscape interview. “There’s a lot of fear, there’s a lot of racism, there’s a lot of distrust going on in this country, and I think S.W.A.T. is going to address that, but … not in a preachy way,” he said.
‘There Is a S.W.A.T. Family and That Family Is Important’
Spinoff reports surfaced that same month, and it was rumored that Moore would be brought in to reprise Hondo. The update drew mixed reception after Hondo’s co-stars confirmed they were not involved, Sony Pictures Television clarified that more of the cast could return. “There is a S.W.A.T. family and that family is important,” Chairman Keith LeGoy said in a statement (per Deadline). “We would love to have other family members involved in some way, whether it’s all of them all of the time, some of them some of the time, or something in between. That’s something that we are still figuring out.“
So far, Moore is the only actor confirmed in the spinoff. He has expressed his thoughts on the turnaround and the backlash it might have caused. “The game has changed. But S.W.A.T. Exiles, baby! Bigger, bolder. S.W.A.T. on steroids,” he said on Instagram. “Nobody likes change. I understand that. I get it 100%. 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.”
