Which S.W.A.T.: Exiles Character Are You?

Learn More About S.W.A.T.: Exiles

S.W.A.T.: Exiles is the new Starz spinoff of the long-running CBS action drama S.W.A.T., bringing Shemar Moore back as Sergeant Daniel Hondo Harrelson for a fresh, higher-stakes chapter. The ten-episode series is set to premiere on September 25, 2026, exclusively on Starz, arriving after the original S.W.A.T. wrapped its run on CBS and Sony Pictures Television opted to continue the franchise in a new direction.

The premise picks Hondo up after a high-profile mission goes sideways and he is pulled out of a forced retirement to lead a last-chance, experimental S.W.A.T. unit built from untested, unpredictable young recruits. Rather than commanding the seasoned 20-Squad he built his career on, Hondo has to bridge a real generational divide, going toe-to-toe with clashing personalities while trying to turn a group of outsiders into a team capable of protecting the city, and saving the very program that made him who he is.

The new recruits are a deliberately mismatched group. Freddy Miyares plays Ethan Cole, Lucy Barrett plays Samantha Sammy Bishop, Ronen Rubinstein plays Jude Reddick, Zyra Gorecki plays Cassidy Han, and Adain Bradley plays Malik Henderson. Early reporting describes the recruits as an eclectic mix of archetypes, from a charismatic former-Marine type to a tactical prodigy to an academy scholar, each bringing a different skill and a different chip on their shoulder to Hondo's new unit.

Cassidy Han in particular has been highlighted as a standout addition: she is an amputee who refuses to be sidelined to desk duty, insisting on operating in the field alongside everyone else. That kind of stubborn refusal to be underestimated sets the tone for how the show frames its whole new roster, less interested in polished heroes than in people who still have something to prove.

S.W.A.T. Exiles also brings back familiar faces to anchor the transition. Jay Harrington returns as Sergeant David Deacon Kay and Patrick St. Esprit returns as Commander Robert Hicks, both reprising their original S.W.A.T. roles in guest capacities, giving longtime fans a direct through-line between the original LAPD unit and Hondo's new experimental squad.

The original S.W.A.T. built its audience on high-octane tactical action paired with real attention to the personal lives and moral conflicts of its officers, and Exiles looks to carry that same DNA into a scrappier, higher-risk setup. Watching a proven leader like Hondo forced to rebuild trust and discipline from scratch, rather than simply command a unit that already respects him, gives the spinoff a distinct dramatic engine of its own.

With a September premiere on the horizon and a cast built specifically around friction and unproven potential, S.W.A.T.: Exiles is shaping up to be one of the fall's more interesting action-drama bets. Whether you see yourself as the grizzled leader trying to hold it all together or one of the recruits fighting to prove you belong, our quiz above will tell you exactly where you fit on this new squad.