S.W.A.T. Exiles, the upcoming spinoff of the long-running S.W.A.T. television series has added two stars from the original show.
Producers now have signed on Jay Harrington, who played Sgt. David “Deacon” Kay, and Patrick St. Esprit, who portrayed Cmdr. Robert “Bob” Hicks, to reprise their roles on the pilot episode, Entertainment Weekly reported on Monday, Sept. 8.
Shemar Moore leads the cast of the spinoff as LAPD Sgt. Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson and will be joined by several new actors.
The original S.W.A.T. ended with its eighth and final season on May 16. The 10-episode spinoff was announced two days later, as previously reported.
Related: Shemar Moore Frustrates Fans With Comments About ‘S.W.A.T.’ Spinoff
News of Harrington and St. Esprit joining the pilot comes after backlash from fans, who expressed disappointment on social media that Moore was the only original star slated to appear on the spinoff.
Although it’s unclear if the two actors will be written into additional episodes.
According to the official description, Exiles will see Hondo return from retirement to lead a unit of primarily untested recruits. That requires him to build a team filled with unpredictable personalities into a unit capable of executing their dangerous missions.
The original S.W.A.T. had a rollercoaster existence, being canceled three times and revived twice.
The addition of the original cast members apparently was a last-minute decision. Harrington told TV Line in June that he received a last-minute call from Moore a day before news broke about the spinoff, and he was not asked to join the cast. He admitted that he was disappointed at first.
“Look, I’ll be very clear. I’ve been in this business for a long time. You don’t get ‘owed’ things just because you put in your time. … if there was any disappointment, it’s that when they announced it, we weren’t mentioned at all,” he said about the ensemble cast.
His sentiments were echoed by castmate David Lim. In an Instagram post addressing the spinoff, Lim noted that the entire S.W.A.T cast “still had more to give” and “more stories to tell.”
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
S.W.A.T. Exiles is expected to begin production later this month in Los Angeles. Lucifer and The Expanse writer-producer Jason Ning is the showrunner and executive producer.
The above image from CBS shows (L-R) Jay Harrington, Patrick St. Esprit and Shemar Moore on S.W.A.T.
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