Shemar Moore is suiting up again. S.W.A.T. Exiles, the spinoff to the long-running CBS action drama, has landed at Starz and will premiere September 25, with Sony Pictures Television closing the U.S. deal after producing the 10-episode series independently and securing distribution across every major international territory.
In S.W.A.T. Exiles, Moore returns as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, pulled out of forced retirement after a high-profile mission goes sideways. Tasked with leading a last-chance experimental S.W.A.T. unit made up of untested and unpredictable young recruits, Hondo must bridge a generational divide, navigate clashing personalities and turn a squad of outsiders into a team capable of protecting the city and saving the program that made him who he is.
Joining Moore are Lucy Barrett, Adain Bradley, Zyra Gorecki, Freddy Miyares and Ronen Rubinstein. Original cast members Jay Harrington and Patrick St. Esprit return as Sergeant David “Deacon” Kay and Commander Robert Hicks, with David Lim reprising his role as Victor Tan in the penultimate episode.
Jason Ning, who was approached about developing the spinoff just two weeks after CBS canceled the mothership series for the third and final time in early 2025, serves as showrunner and executive producer. Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty of Original Film, Moore, James Scura and Jon Cowan also executive produce.
The series will air weekly on Fridays on Starz and stream on the Starz app. Sony TV has been in second-window conversations with Netflix, where the original S.W.A.T. series has been available for more than three years.
Internationally, the series will launch day-and-date in select territories. Sony has secured deals with Sky GSA, Sky New Zealand, Stan in Australia, Rai and Sky Italia, DPG in Flemish Belgium, Tet in the Baltics, Bell Media in English Canada and Quebecor Content in French Canada. The series will air on Disney+ across Latin America, WOWOW in Japan, LG Uplus in South Korea, AXN across Spain, Portugal, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, beIN across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and Canal+ across the Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe, Poland and Sub-Saharan Africa.
“S.W.A.T. Exiles is coming in hot,” Moore said. “I couldn’t be more excited that Starz is bringing this next chapter to audiences in the U.S. What makes this moment even more special is that we’re reaching audiences in all major territories worldwide. Fans everywhere will get to experience this epic new ride together.”
The acquisition fits neatly into Starz’s programming focus on women and underrepresented audiences, with proprietary research showing significant viewer overlap between S.W.A.T. and top-performing Starz originals including the Power franchise. The deal also extends Sony Pictures Television’s longstanding relationship with the network, built around Outlander, which wrapped its eight-season run and has since been succeeded by prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
Sony opted to produce S.W.A.T. Exiles independently after U.S. buyers took a wait-and-see approach following the series announcement at the LA Screenings in May 2025. The studio retained creative control and filmed the spinoff in Los Angeles, securing a $15.7 million tax credit in the process. Production wrapped in February, after which Sony screened the first episode for prospective buyers in Los Angeles, New York and during the London Screenings, all attended by Moore.