Production on SWAT: Exiles is coming to an end, even though no network or streaming service has signed on to distribute the SWAT spinoff yet.
This major filming update comes nine months after the original series aired its final episode on CBS after eight seasons on the air. Just days later, Sony announced a spinoff that will see Shemar Moore reprise his role as Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson. Filming got underway on SWAT Exiles in the summer of 2025, with the same crew members returning.
According to Deadline, filming for SWAT: Exiles season 1, which will consist of 10 episodes, is scheduled to end on February 10.
Even though the series doesn't have United States or global distributors yet, the first episode will be screened on the Sony lot on February 11, which could lead to a network or streaming service making a deal with Sony. Addition al screenings will be held in New York and London in the coming weeks, with the latter aimed at international distributors.
Sony didn't secure a buyer for the U.S. rights to SWAT Exiles when the series was first announced in May, even though Prime Video and Fox reportedly expressed interest. The unique circumstances have resulted in Sony gaining the upper hand from a creative standpoint.
Also, by waiting until now to search for a distributor, the production company is able to field several more offers now that streaming services like HBO Max and Netflix are searching for cheaper shows to release, a la The Pitt.
Katherine Pope, the president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, told Deadline that "timing-wise, there's probably more potential avenues than there were in May."
"I actually feel like, timing-wise, there’s probably more potential avenues than there were in May."
There came a point in 2025 when Sony executives decided to focus solely on filming SWAT: Exiles instead of selling the series to buyers. Pope added that the company made that decision because she "started feeling really good about the cast" and the scripts.
Once filming on season 1 ends this week, Sony will actually have something tangible for potential distributors to review. "There is really nothing to substitute for having a season," she explained.
“We started feeling really good about the cast. We started feeling great about the scripts. We’re like, you know what? We’re going to have something, and it’s going to be better. The buyers are going be able to actually see and feel it. There is really nothing to substitute for having a season.”
The original series aired from 2017 to 2025, but it almost didn't make it that long, as CBS canceled SWAT twice and then reversed course both times. Even though the third cancellation announcement was permanent, Sony rushed to order the spinoff SWAT: Exiles last May, so it wouldn't lose lead star Moore after his contract expired.
In the original series, Moore's character is a sergeant with the LAPD who oversees the Special Weapons and Tactics division. SWAT: Exiles will see Hondo leave retired life behind to oversee a brand-new SWAT unit that includes recruits who are not ready for the big leagues, resulting in Hondo being tested in ways he's never experienced before.
Moore is expected to be the only SWAT cast member to be a series regular on Exiles, but original stars Jay Harrington and Patrick St. Esprit, who played David "Deacon" Kay and Robert Hicks, respectively, will appear in guest roles.
Jason Ning is the showrunner of the SWAT spinoff alongside executive producers Moore, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, and James Scura.
