S.W.A.T. Spinoff Gets Exciting Season 2 Filming Update From Shemar Moore Ahead Of Premiere

Custom Image by Joe O'Shea Published Sep 22, 2026, 5:45 PM EDT Sign in to your ScreenRant account EXCLUSIVE: Shemar Moore just revealed a brand-new update about S.W.A.T. Exiles season 2, even though the first season has yet to premiere. After CBS canceled S.W.A.T. in 2025, Sony Pictures Television quickly swooped in to begin developing a spinoff that kept Moore a part of the franchise. Created by Jason Ning, S.W.A.T. Exiles debuts September 25, with Moore starring alongside Ronen Rubinstein, Freddy Miyares, Zyra Gorecki, Lucy Barrett and Adain Bradley. The second season of S.W.A.T. Exiles begins filming sometime this fall. As the production start date draws closer, Moore is opening up about how the process is coming along. In an interview with ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns for our S.W.A.T. Exiles cover story, the actor explained that he's "not quite ready" for season 2 because he's trying to get back in shape for when filming does pick back up. At the time of this interview, he admitted his "whole body hurts right now" because "working out was way easier 15, 20 years ago." He's doing everything he can to look the part for S.W.A.T. Exiles. The entertainment industry is a "vain" place to work in, and Moore has fallen victim to this, as he will attest to. "I'm 56 trying to look and move like I'm 30, so I want to look good," he said. To get ready for S.W.A.T. Exiles season 2, Moore is working out at the gym for two hours a day, five days a week. He also has a home gym, where he gets on his treadmill and StairMaster, and then does push-ups, sit-ups and skip rope. Afterwards, the actor sits in his sauna for 30 minutes and goes into a cold plunge for around five minutes at a time. He also gets deep tissue massages and goes to a physical therapist. ScreenRant: "You mentioned...you were getting back in shape for season 2, what's filming looking like on that? Are you already rolling or are we looking soon?" Shemar Moore: "No, no, no, no, no, no. I am not quite ready, I am not quite ready. [Laughs] Look, hey, working out was way easier 15, 20 years ago, it was way easier. No, I'm sitting here in my office and my whole body hurts right now. [Laughs] I'm doing everything I can. I'm vain, we're all vain, this is Hollywood, you know what I mean? I'm vain, I want to look good, I joke all the time I'm trying to keep my black from cracking. But I'm 56 trying to look and move like I'm 30, so I want to look good. So, yeah, I'm in the gym two hours a day, five days a week, and then I come home. I have a home gym, where I do my cardio, so I'm doing 45 minutes on the treadmill, the StairMaster, I'm doing push-ups, I'm doing sit-ups, I'm skipping rope, I'm sitting in my sauna for 30 minutes. I have a cold plunge at 41 degrees, I sit in that for five to six minutes. I get deep tissue massage, I go to a physical therapist who cracks me this way, and cracks me that way, and does all this stuff to keep me on my feet." Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson Jr., his character on S.W.A.T. and S.W.A.T. Exiles, needs to exude a certain presence when on the job. "It's muscles, it's physique, it's swagger, it's the way he moves, Hondo has that. But also, you can't do the show S.W.A.T. unless you're in shape," he said, adding that this level of endurance applies to the entire cast. A typical filming schedule for an episode of S.W.A.T. Exiles lasts eight days. The first four are focused on filming the action scenes, which includes the actors having to "run around with a gun and duck walks, and run up and down fire escapes, and chase guys down alleys, and do these choreographed fights and jump over hoods of cars, and jump out of the way of a building about to explode." Everyone has a hard time walking and moving around after that intense pace, so the final four days center on the "talking" scenes. Shemar Moore: "But there's two things. I'm vain, I want to look good, but I also want to look the part. Hondo has to have a presence, and on the outside, it's muscles, it's physique, it's swagger, it's the way he moves, Hondo has that. But also, you can't do the show S.W.A.T. unless you're in shape. Ask any of the cast members, young and old, the old show, this show, you can't run around 10 to 13 hours a day. So, it takes us eight days to do one episode, three to four of those days on average is action, and then the other four days after you can barely walk, and all that is talking, you got to do all the talking. But to run around with a gun, and duck walk, and run up and down fire escape,s and chase guys down alleys, and do these choreographed fight,s and jump over hoods of cars, and jump out of the way of a building about to explode, if you are not in shape, you can't do this job. The endurance." Moore is grateful that S.W.A.T. Exiles only has 10 episodes per season because the "grind" of the original S.W.A.T. series was a lot to keep up with. Back then, most seasons consisted of 20 or more episodes, which is double what he's doing now. No matter what the schedule is, the most important aspect is to "bring as much authenticity" to the screen so viewers believe that Hondo is actually a S.W.A.T. leader for the Los Angeles Police Department. Shemar Moore: "In the old show, we were doing 22 episodes, 19, 22 episodes, that was 10 and a half months of four days of running around being a superhero, and four days of talking. It's a lot, it's a grind. And now, thankfully, we're doing 10 episodes. [Chuckles] So, I've got to bust my a--, I got 40 days of being a superhero, and 40 days of acting, running my mouth, so I'm doing everything I can to look the part, be the part. It's important to me to bring as much authenticity, besides vanity. When you see me on the screen, I want you to believe me, and that's it. But, yeah, all this keeping it sexy stuff, it's overrated. [Laughs]" Before playing Hondo, Moore had appeared in movies like Diary of a Mad Black Woman, voiced characters in animated Justice League films and starred on the TV shows Birds of Prey and Criminal Minds. Then in 2017, he landed the lead role on S.W.A.T., a series that managed to stay on the air for eight seasons, despite being canceled and revived multiple times, and earned three Emmy nominations throughout its run. Now Moore is bringing Hondo to S.W.A.T. Exiles, which will see the lead character come out of retirement to oversee a new team of untested recruits. Moore is also serving as an executive producer with Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, James Scura and Jon Cowan. S.W.A.T. Exiles premieres Friday, September 25 at 10 p.m. EDT on Starz. Release Date September 25, 2026 Network Starz Directors Kevin Tancharoen Cast Shemar Moore David 'Deacon' Kay Jay Harrington Daniel 'Hondo' Harrelson Jr. Patrick St. Esprit Robert 'Bob' Hicks Lucy Barrett Sammy 'Sam' Bishop S.W.A.T. Exiles follows Daniel 'Hondo' Harrelson, who is brought out of retirement to lead an experimental SWAT unit of young, untested recruits. Main Genre Crime Creator(s) Jason Ning Executive Producer(s) James Scura, Jason Ning, Jon Cowan, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Shemar Moore Producers Michael Gemballa, Brian George, Danielle Woodrow Seasons 1 Number of Episodes 10