When SWAT Exiles was (not so tactfully) announced, it was made clear that only Shemar Moore from the OG series would reprise his role. In fact, it soon came out that the other stars had no idea that Moore and Sony were in talks about this series.
Since then, there has been a lot of back and forth about the spinoff series. Some of the OG actors have come out to share their disappointment in the way that the announcement was handled, while others have shared their hopes that arcs could have some closure.
Then there was the hope that some original characters could return after all. Now, two of the OG SWAT actors will be back for the spinoff, but there is a catch.
Jay Harrington and Patrick St. Esprit will be in SWAT Exiles
The new spinoff will see both Deacon and Commander Robert Hicks return to duty. There is a catch, though, as Deadline reports that it is for the SWAT Exiles pilot episode.
While it is only for the pilot, it is great news for those who were disappointed when Harrington revealed that he only knew about the spinoff because Moore texted him the day before the announcement to the public.
He had made it clear that he wouldn’t say no to returning to the spinoff if he was asked. However, it would need to work for the storyline, and it looks like the series has found a way to write him and Hicks in.
It does make sense to have the two of them in the pilot episode. In the synopsis for SWAT Exiles, we know that Hondo has been forced out of retirement. Deacon and Hicks would be the perfect people to pull him back in when it’s clear that his help is needed.
That is if they’re still alive…
There’s 1 way to make Hondo leave SWAT
I don’t quite fully believe that Hondo would do something that would see him fired or forced into retirement. It would suggest that either there was a huge change on top, or that something had happened to his team.
Having Harrington and St. Esprit only in the pilot does make me worried that the show is going to go the route I thought it might. Hondo would certainly step away if a bad call of his led to his entire team being killed. This could even include Hicks, as we’ve seen Hicks go in on missions when the time was right.
Their involvement could be a flashback that shows us what happened. The only thing that helps settle my fears of that is that only the two of them are included. For a flashback, we’d need to see the entire team, which would include Tan, Powell, Miko, and Devin.
SWAT Exiles doesn’t yet have a home, so stay tuned to Precinct TV for the latest updates.