‘S.W.A.T. Exiles’ Star Shemar Moore Describes Season 2 as ‘Unchained’

S.W.A.T. Exiles reaches the halfway point of its first season with the Friday, October 23, episode, but the good news is that viewers already know there will be more after these remaining five episodes. The series was renewed for a second season before the first even premiered.

When TV Insider spoke with series star and executive producer Shemar Moore about the first half of the season, he was gearing up to get back to work.

“I’m so excited. That’s cool. That means we made it. Season 1, and if I can be honest — we have Starz now and it’s on Starz, but Starz wasn’t a part of Season 1. Season 1 is what got Starz attention,” he said. The first season had been completely shot before it had a home; the series was greenlit by Sony Pictures Television two days after the original S.W.A.T. ended its run on CBS (following more than one cancellation and un-cancellation).

Courtesy of Starz

“So if you think Season 1 is hot, we had to make a show. We pushed the envelope, but we could only push it so far because we didn’t know where we were going to land,” Moore admitted. “So it definitely is edgier. It is more colorful. It’s definitely grittier and freer, and there’s more depth to the storytelling than the original show. But now that we have Starz on board, Season 1 is going to set it up in a big way.”

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As for what that means for Season 2, “We’re starting in about a month or so here, that’s why I’m back in the gym trying to keep my Hondo together and everything hurts, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’m going to give you that Hondo,” he shared on October 1. “But Season 2 is going to be off the charts because we’ve got complete freedom to, what I like to say is let the fat fly — Hondo unchained, S.W.A.T. Exiles unchained. So get into Season 1 on Starz and trust me, it’s just the beginning.”

S.W.A.T. Exiles, Fridays, Starz