Shemar Moore knew Hondo Harrelson couldn’t simply return to S.W.A.T. and do things the way he always had.
When Moore reprised his longtime role in S.W.A.T. Exiles, Hondo was a very different man. He was coming off a forced retirement, grieving his mother, divorced from Nichelle, and struggling to figure out what his life looked like after years of being the face of S.W.A.T. He was then handed a team of young recruits who, in Hondo’s eyes, had plenty to learn.
But four episodes into the new STARZ series, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Hondo isn’t the only one who needs to change.
Moore spoke with Men’s Journal ahead of the September 25 premiere about returning to Hondo and the challenges of leading a younger generation. At the time, he described this version of Hondo as a more complicated, flawed leader — one who could be willing to bend the rules to accomplish what he believes needs to be done.
“You meet a more human leader,” Moore said. “A leader who is heroic, a leader who is ambitious, but a leader who is also flawed and dark, and this time around may be willing to break the rules to get the ultimate victory.”
Hondo’s Biggest Challenge Isn’t the Action
The premise of S.W.A.T. Exiles puts Hondo in charge of an experimental unit made up of young, inexperienced recruits. But the generational divide isn’t simply played for laughs. Hondo has to figure out how to communicate with people who don’t necessarily share his worldview, his instincts or his approach to the job.
Moore compared the dynamic to his own experience as a 56-year-old trying to keep up with a younger generation.
“My generation, we went out and mom and dad didn’t care where we went,” Moore said. “Then you got this Gen Z crowd that is swipe this, swipe that, swipe this and DM that.”
That difference has become one of the defining elements of the spinoff. Hondo’s recruits aren’t simply younger versions of the officers he worked alongside on the original series. They each have their own motivations, personalities and ways of approaching the job.
And that forces Hondo to change his approach.
“You can’t talk the same to the next one,” Moore said. “So you have to figure them out individually.”
That may be the most important piece of advice Hondo has received in S.W.A.T. Exiles, whether he realizes it or not.
Hondo Has Already Learned He Can’t Trust Everyone
That lesson became particularly important in Episode 4, “Get Clear.”
After a chaotic operation leaves Hondo facing a Force Review Board, he realizes there is more happening inside his own unit than he initially understood. Rather than simply defending himself, Hondo uses the situation to try to identify the person working against him. The answer is Malik.
Malik, who viewers already knew was secretly working with someone intent on undermining Hondo, steals drone footage from Hondo’s office. Hondo has deliberately left that footage vulnerable as part of a trap, allowing him to confirm Malik is the mole.
The reveal is significant because Malik is exactly the kind of recruit Hondo has been trying to understand.
In Episode 4, Hondo also discovers an unexpected ally in Ethan, the team’s tech expert. Ethan helps Hondo uncover the truth, establishing a partnership between two characters who initially seem like unlikely companions. Moore has since described Hondo and Ethan’s relationship as an unexpected blend of Hondo’s strengths with Ethan’s technical expertise.
That dynamic makes Moore’s pre-premiere comments about Hondo figuring out his recruits individually even more relevant.
Hondo can’t lead this team by assuming everyone will respond to the same kind of authority. He has to understand what makes each person tick — and, perhaps more importantly, determine who actually deserves his trust.
Shemar Moore Brought His Own Life Into Hondo’s Story
The changes in Hondo aren’t only about his new job. Moore said he deliberately brought pieces of his own life into the character, particularly his experiences with becoming a father and losing his mother.
“My mother’s been in heaven for six years and your life changes,” Moore said. “That chapter is gone and you have to adjust and you have to persevere and you have to survive but never forget.”
For Hondo, that means becoming the best version of himself for his daughter.
“He has to be the best version of himself for his daughter,” Moore said.
It’s a meaningful evolution for a character who spent much of the original S.W.A.T. defined by his position as a leader. In Exiles, Hondo’s identity isn’t quite as secure. He’s no longer simply the commander who knows exactly what to do next.
The New Team May Be Changing Hondo as Much as He’s Changing Them
When Moore first described the new cast, he emphasized just how different the recruits were from the teams Hondo had worked with before.
“They’re so interestingly different individually,” he said. “You’ve got to dig through these eccentric qualities to figure out what you jive with together. But then you celebrate their uniqueness.”
That is increasingly becoming the heart of S.W.A.T. Exiles.
Hondo still has the experience and instincts, and he still has the willingness to put himself in danger for his team. But the people around him don’t necessarily operate according to the rules he grew up with.
Some will challenge him. Some will surprise him. And, as Malik has now demonstrated, some may betray him.
That makes Hondo’s journey in Exiles less about teaching the next generation how to become like him and more about figuring out how to lead people who never will.
Four episodes in, Hondo has already learned that the biggest threat to his legacy might not come from outside S.W.A.T. It may come from inside the team he’s been tasked with saving.
And if Moore’s description of Hondo as a more flawed, human and unpredictable leader is any indication, he may have to change just as much as his recruits do before this season is over.
