S.W.A.T Exiles Cast: Meet the OG Stars Returning for Starz Spin-Off Series

Shemar Moore will lead S.W.A.T. Exiles, reprising his role as Sergeant II Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson in the spinoff. The official logline reveals what to expect from his return: “After a high-profile mission goes sideways, Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson is pulled out of forced retirement to lead a last-chance experimental SWAT unit made up of untested, 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.”

Jay Harrington is back in the role of David “Deacon” Kay, but he won’t be starring as a series regular or recurring character in the spinoff. Harrington is said to be returning as a guest star only in the pilot episode. In 2025, when the spinoff was revealed to the public, Harrington was just as surprised as fans because he didn’t hear about it “not once” while he was filming the final season of the parent series. He was upset with the way they handled the announcement.

Harrington told TVLine, “Shemar reached out to all of us to say, ‘This is what’s going on….’ He wanted to be the one to tell us, and say ‘your reps will find out shortly.’ That’s when I told my reps, and they had no idea.” He explained, “I’ve been in this business for a long time. You don’t get ‘owed’ things just because you put in your time. 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’.”

Just like Jay Harrington, Patrick St. Esprit is returning only in a guest-starring capacity. He comes back as Commander Robert Hicks in the pilot episode of the spinoff series. Esprit appeared in the S.W.A.T. television series across all eight seasons, from 2017 to 2025. He was first cast in a recurring capacity in Season 1 before being promoted to a series regular for Seasons 2 through 8.

David Lim is also confirmed to appear as a guest star in the penultimate episode. He is set to play the character of Officer Victor Tan again. Lim was also caught off guard by the spinoff announcement. In a post shared on Instagram last year, he expressed, “I’d be lying if I said the rollout of the new spinoff didn’t sting. It was tough to see it announced just two days after our finale—with no mention of the cast who helped build S.W.A.T. from day one. After 8 incredible seasons, it felt like we were brushed aside when there could’ve been a moment of reflection and recognition—for the people who built this show, and for the impact it had on so many.”