Another ‘S.W.A.T.’ Star Speaks Out After Being Excluded From Shemar Moore Spinoff

After David Lim gave his two cents about the upcoming S.W.A.T. spinoff starring Shemar Moore, another star is speaking out.

It was recently announced that Sony Pictures Television had ordered 10-episode spinoff, S.W.A.T. Exiles, with Moore returning as Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson.

While the show is said to bring on around 200 LA-based crew members who worked on S.W.A.T., it’s unknown if any other cast members will be joining the series. Jay Harrington, who played Sergeant David “Deacon” Kay on all eight seasons of the CBS procedural, spoke to TVLine about the spinoff, noting that there was nothing indicating while filming that a spinoff was even being considered and that Moore had called everyone as a group before news broke.

“Look, I’ll be very clear. I’ve been in this business for a long time,” Harrington explained. “You don’t get ‘owed’ things just because you put in your time. If that’s the route they’re going to go, I wish it success. It’s just a fine line between ‘owed’ and ‘just let me know,’ for the studio just to say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re thinking… It’s a new idea, but this is the route we gotta go, and unfortunately, the way it’s structured, we want to make a clean break, start fresh.’ Well, what do you say to that? ‘OK, well, good luck!’ So if there was any disappointment, it’s that when they announced it, we weren’t mentioned at all. That was it. And it was short-lived because I thought, ‘I’m not going to let that take away from what I know in my heart is eight years of putting in some great work.’”

When asked for clarification on wanting to see the announcement handled differently, Harrington admitted he would have liked to see different wording. “I get that it’s a new concept, but there’s the fact that, ‘Well, you can’t have that concept without the success of the former,’” he said. “That was all.”

Although Hondo won’t be working with 20-Squad, as he will be turning a “squad of outsiders into a team capable of protecting the city and saving the program that made him who he is,” that doesn’t necessarily count out anyone else from returning. However brief the appearance may be. As far as Deacon’s return goes, “You know, you never say never, you never close any doors,” Harrington said.

“I’d be interested to see if that’s the direction they go, and, ‘How do they do that?’ That would certainly play a part,” he continued. “I’ve also had a great time directing over the years, and I’ll be open to that possibility if that call [to direct] comes as well. You never say never.”

Filming for S.W.A.T. Exiles is set to kick off sometime this summer, so more information on the casting will likely be announced soon. Even though the series will be a bit different from S.W.A.T., it is better than nothing following S.W.A.T.’s third cancellation.