After weeks of speculation, Lina Esco has confirmed she will officially leave S.W.A.T. Esco, who plays Christine “Chris” Alonso, will not return for Season 6 of S.W.A.T., which was recently greenlit by CBS.
After weeks of speculation, Lina Esco has confirmed she will officially leave S.W.A.T. Esco, who plays Christine “Chris” Alonso, will not return for Season 6 of S.W.A.T., which was recently greenlit by CBS.
Esco was a member of S.W.A.T. cast since the show began in 2017.
After the riveting Season 5 finale aired on Sunday, May 22, Esco took to Instagram to explain why she decided to leave S.W.A.T. after five seasons.
She shared with her more than 333,000 followers that she made the “difficult” decision to leave S.W.A.T. to pursue “new creative endeavors.”
“Bringing to life a strong, intelligent, bisexual character like Chris Alonso is both a joy and a powerful opportunity to increase the visibility of diverse women everywhere.
“Five years later—I left SWAT to pursue new creative endeavors. Chris [Alonso, Esco’s S.W.A.T. character] never backed down from the unknown and as an actor/writer/ director—I’m excited to step out of my comfort zone and embark on a new chapter as well.
“That said, this was one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. I’m forever grateful to my SWAT family—my co-stars, crew, writers, and producers—for a journey amazing SWAT fans, you guys are at the heart of the show. I can’t thank you enough for your support and for being with me throughout chris’ journey!
In Episode 20, Chris leaves S.W.A.T. to take over the safe house for immigrant women, originally run by Mama Pina. She then tells James Street (played by Alex Russell) that she is only two weeks away from becoming a member of the SWAT Team.
Sadly, those two weeks have passed. Chris actually left S.W.A.T. team well.
However, fans have something they’ve been waiting for for five seasons, which is Chris and Street spending the night together for the first time.
S.W.A.T. hosts Shawn Ryan and Andy Dettmann shared a bittersweet statement after Esco was eliminated in the finale.
Sharing the post on S.W.A.T.’s social media channels, the statement praised Esco’s performance and their wish to give her character a “proper” send-off.
It reads: “For five seasons and 106 episodes, we’ve had the pleasure of watching Lina Esco bring Chris Alonso to life in S.W.A.T.
“When Lina came to us a year ago to express her desire to pursue other endeavors, we all worked hard to give Chris a suitable season-long farewell, knowing that she is an important, iconic character to our audience.
“Lina has given us this season thrilling performances as well as great directing work for an episode. What Lina has brought to the show and what Chris represents to our audience I am irreplaceable.
“We will miss Chris, but we will especially miss Lina, as we wish her the best of luck with whatever she chooses to do next.”
