‘S.W.A.T.’ Star Jay Harrington Breaks Silence on Being Excluded From ‘Exiles’ Spinoff
Jay Harrington is finally opening up about Shemar Moore’s S.W.A.T. spinoff, revealing he had no idea a new project was in the works.
S.W.A.T. wrapped up its series finale on Friday, May 16, after eight seasons, but it was later announced that Moore would reprise his role of Hondo for a spinoff series, S.W.A.T. Exiles. However, Moore is the only original cast member expected to appear in the upcoming spinoff.
In an interview with TVLine, Harrington was asked if there was any talk of a spinoff over the past year or so. “No. No. Not once,” he said, adding that even when filming the final episode, he had no indication a spinoff was on the table.
“Because of the way things had happened over the years with [S.W.A.T.] being cancelled, coming back, I had the thought, ‘OK, we could come back.’ There’s a chance, you never say die, especially with the streaming world and such,” Harrington shared. “My choices in my head were that, or it’s over. I did not have a spinoff on my bingo card, for sure.”
The spinoff was officially announced on May 18, but Harrington revealed how Moore reached out to the cast the day before to clue them in.
“Shemar reached out to all of us to say, ‘This is what’s going on…, and, you know, there’s talk that they’ll reach out to us about stuff,'” Harrington recalled. “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.”
Harrington, who played Sgt. David “Deacon” Kay since S.W.A.T. premiered on CBS in 2017, added that after working in the industry for this long, he knows he isn’t “owed” things just because of the time he put in. That said, he believes the situation could have been handled differently.
“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!'” he stated.
“So if there was any disappointment, it’s that when they announced it, we weren’t mentioned at all,” Harrington continued. “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.'”
Harrington admitted that as a “human being” he felt “stung,” but noted, “I didn’t want to go to that place because I thought, truthfully, ‘It’s show business.’ It’s a business.”
The Better Off Ted alum noted that Moore text each cast member one by one and offered the chance to have a call about the situation if needed. “I texted him later and said, ‘I’m sure you did your best,'” Harrington shared. “We’ve been brothers for years, so that doesn’t change.”
As for whether Harrington is open to appearing on S.W.A.T. Exiles if the call comes, he said, “You know, you never say never, you never close any doors. 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. 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.”
S.W.A.T., Streaming, Paramount+
Conversation16 Comments
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O
Deacon is my favorite. So obviously I’m disappointed that the show was canceled. Not sure if I’ll watch the spin-off.
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C
That is a BAD thing to do to the other cast members 😕 😔. My cast member was Deacon. I don't think I will see the spinoff. 😔😪
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G
I wish the whole crew was coming back. I've watched SWAT from the beginning. There have been a lot of changes, but I still enjoy each and every character. I'll give the new SWAT a try. I was hoping that a streaming service would take the show as it is and go from there. Of course, I'm pretty frosted with CBS right now cancelling two of the FBI's, Swat, The Equalizer and Blue Bloods!
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C
That's a great attitude to have. Yes, it IS a business, and nothing is guaranteed to anyone. As one work manager once told me, "yes, you've worked here for X years... it doesn't entitle you to anything except the paychecks you've gotten."
I'm willing to bet that Shemar wasn't involved in the initial inception of the Exiles spinoff, and was approached about it by the production company.
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P
I want Jay Harrington back with Shemar Moore
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C
I think they should have never cancelled the show in the first place but that being said I think he should be on the spinoff with Moore.
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B
I'm excited to see spinoff,but I'll miss Jay.I have been his fan since 2009
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R
I think Jay character Decon would be a great choice to be in the series. With him running his security company he would be ready to go back to swat .xIf nothing else at least as a training coordinator.
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O
After Shemar called himself the Tom Brady of SWAT he lost me. And I’ve been a fan from the jump.
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O
I guess I wondering if Shemar (Hondo ) can carry the show without them. As a team, each one brought something unique to the show.
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R
I hope it sink. The cast made the show. Should have just renew Swat. Fantastic show.
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R
I was hoping for the Swat crew not a new one! Love all the former crew! Will try & see if I like it!
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As in the movie production I feel the SWAT team member Jay Harrington (Deacon)character made the show interesting and enjoyable He will be missed I know I will all of the SWAT team
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R
They should do a spinoff of Harrington's private security business. He drops SWAT to focus on his business and that would be a great show to watch!
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B
I think Harrington is a cordial and diplomatic man that has had some phenomenal acting under his belt. And apparently directing as well. I'm sorry things ended the way that they did I'm sure he's very hurt inside. But he's not going to say that and he doesn't have to. I think we all understand that. But having said that the way that he's handled himself I'm sure that he will be successful in any venture that he proceeds to take on!
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The show won't be the same without the original
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