Author: Yana Grebenyuk

The cast of S.W.A.T. has weathered multiple cancellations while continuing to advocate for more seasons of the show — but that doesn’t mean everyone is returning for the surprise spinoff.Based on the 1975 TV show and 2003 film adaptation of the same name, S.W.A.T. centered around the Los Angeles Police Department. The CBS series premiered in 2017 and aired six seasons before it was picked up for a seventh and final season. CBS ultimately reversed that decision and S.W.A.T. returned for season 8. But the celebration didn’t last long — the network canceled the show for a second time in March 2025.
S.W.A.T. seemingly came to an end two months later when the series finale aired on CBS. In the final episode, the team survived yet another mission and the last scene showed 20 Squad leaving headquarters to take on their next crisis.
Just two days after the finale aired, Sony Pictures Television picked up a spinoff titled S.W.A.T. Exiles, which will pick up after “a high-profile mission goes sideways, Daniel ‘Hondo’ Harrelson is pulled out of forced retirement to lead a last-chance experimental SWAT unit made up of untested, unpredictable young recruits.” Shemar Moore’s character must “bridge a generational divide, navigate clashing personalities, and turn a squad of outsiders into a team capable of protecting the city and saving the program that made him who he is.”

Moore reacted to the 10-episode continuation of S.W.A.T., saying in a statement, “My eight seasons on S.W.A.T. have been epic and memorable. We entertained the world, defied the odds, came back from the dead twice, and continued to woo fans and families worldwide.”
He continued: “I am excited for this next generation and iteration of S.W.A.T. with Sony. Katherine Pope, Neal H. Moritz, Jason Ning, and I will keep the franchise, thrill ride action, heartfelt drama, and storytelling of S.W.A.T. alive. WE DON’T LOSE!!!! ROLL SWAT!!!”
While Moore’s return was announced, fans couldn’t help but notice that the rest of the cast wasn’t confirmed. The last season of S.W.A.T also starred Jay Harrington, David Lim, Patrick St. Esprit, Anna Enger Ritch, Annie Ilonzeh and Niko Pepaj.
Keep scrolling for what each cast member has said about whether they would reprise their character — and whether they have officially been offered the chance to return:

Shemar Moore

CBS
“To all my homies, fans and baby girls… to everybody out there around the world who have supported us for eight years, first of all, thank you,” the actor, who plays Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, said in a video shared by Sony Pictures Television. “We couldn’t have done this without you,” he said. “I know the sad news is we got cancelled, but the good news is we don’t stop fighting. And guess what happens when you don’t stop fighting? We won! S.W.A.T. ain’t going nowhere! Hondo ain’t going nowhere!”
Jay Harrington

CBS
Before the series finale, Harrington reflected on his character Deacon’s conclusion, telling TV Insider in May, “The way the writers crafted this entire 13 episodes was really, really interesting because they didn’t want it to be — not just because there’s a chance we could come back, but sometimes in shows when they just end and they tie it all into this bow and it’s perfect, yeah, you want to do that in some way, but these guys, SWAT officers, they’re special.”
He continued: “So they really wanted the idea of, the show must go on and it’s a job that doesn’t go away and we don’t lose them. They crafted it very, very smartly, I think.”
Despite showing interest in a return, Harrington hasn’t publicly reacted yet to the spinoff news and his name wasn’t listed in the press release.
David Lim

CBS
When viewers last saw Tan, he accepted a liaison position but remained in the field with the rest of 20 Squad. Lim, meanwhile, has yet to address the surprise spinoff but has expressed interest in remaining in the universe.
“It might not be just over for S.W.A.T. just yet,” he said on KTLA 5 Morning News in April 2025. “We believe in the show. We believe in what we’ve built. We’re passionate. We want to continue. We’re actively trying to find a new home for S.W.A.T., and there’s been an outpouring of love and support from our fans.”
Anna Enger Ritch

CBS
Ritch, who plays Zoe Powell, has pitched ideas for what other stories there are still left to tell, sharing with Collider in March 2023, “I think it would be interesting to see the women go through trying to juggle what it would be like to have a family and also maintain a SWAT tactical officer career. I don’t think that’s anything I’ve ever dove into on this show particularly, but hopefully, as we continue, should we continue, that would be an interesting exploration.”
The actress, however, hasn’t sounded off on the spinoff — or whether Powell will appear — yet.

Niko Pepaj

CBS
After being promoted to main cast, Pepaj has continued to show support for his character Alfaro’s journey. Pepaj documented the days leading up to the series finale but hasn’t weighed in on S.W.A.T.‘s spinoff.
Annie Ilonzeh

CBS
Before news of S.W.A.T. Exiles broke, Ilonzeh spoke with Us Weekly about attempts to revive the series.
“We are crossing our fingers. So there is a particular discussion being had. I hope I can say [soon] that we really did it. We rallied for a third time,” she shared in April 2025 while reflecting on her time playing Gamble. “But we’re making noise. They do see it — producers and streamers that are interested — they are like, ‘OK, this is something.’ So if we can plug and play, we’re all geared up to go. We don’t want this ride to be over.”

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Despite fighting for S.W.A.T. to get a new home, it would be the show’s last battle to stay on the air.
“I was just talking to [my costar] Shemar [Moore] yesterday and he was like, ‘If we do this for a third time — whenever we do get canceled again — I will be OK with it. I’m not fighting for a fourth [time] because we really did it and we end on that,’” she noted. “We will end on the fight and the win and relish in all of this and squeeze the life out of it. We will know that we did it, we did our job and we can walk away happy campers.”
Ilonzeh has also not acknowledged the spinoff news yet.

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The entire first season of Motorheads centered around Ryan Phillippe‘s mysterious — and missing — onscreen brother Christian Maddox, but who does the cast want to see fill the role in season 2?During the Prime Video series, which premiered on Tuesday, May 20, Logan’s (Phillippe) brother Christian was seen in flashbacks before disappearing after a botched heist. The season ended by hinting that adult Christian could still be alive — and the show’s stars Michael Cimino, Melissa Collazo, Uriah Shelton, Nicolas Cantu, Mia Healey, Josh Macqueen and Drake Rodger have some ideas as to who could fill his mysterious shoes.
Both Collazo, 24, and Cantu, 21, floated the idea of Hayden Christensen joining the show.
“I would love it if it was Hayden Christensen,” Shelton, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly during the press junket. “I would have a hard time not making Star Wars jokes — but I feel like he’s used to that.”

Meanwhile Cimino, 25, pitched Ethan Hawke — even though he is older than Phillippe, 50, adding, “Just as an actor that I would love to work: Ethan Hawke. I would die to work with Ethan Hawke and for him to be my onscreen dad. That would be so sick.”
Macqueen, 23, suggested James Spader to Us, while Rodger, 26, circled back to his The Winchesters costar Jensen Ackles.
“I would love Jensen. He would be fun. I feel like Jensen and Ryan could play siblings,” Rodger added. “I just don’t know if Jensen could play Ryan’s younger sibling but [we can pretend].”
Motorheads “follows a group of outsiders in a once-thriving Rust Belt town as they form an unlikely friendship over a mutual love of automobiles.” In addition to the main cast, Phillippe’s son, Deacon, was cast in the role of a younger Christian. (Nathalie Kelley and Matt Lanter make up the rest of the adult cast.)
“It’s so unique to be in a situation like this where you’re both working on a show with really good people,” Phillippe exclusively told Us at the show’s Los Angeles premiere earlier this month. “It definitely wasn’t lost on either of us. There were times when we would look at each other and just be like, ‘Can you believe that we’re actually doing this?’”
Motorheads executive producers John A. Norris and Jason Seagraves recalled the process of bringing Deacon, 21, onto the show.

“I’ve known Ryan for quite a while now, so to actually get to work with him and see how professional he is and he comes to work prepared every single day,” Seagraves shared with Us. “He just brought so much heart to it and [we] couldn’t be more fortunate to have him.”
Norris, meanwhile, opened up about how Phillippe supported his son, emphasizing that no strings were pulled in Deacon’s favor.

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“Him showing up [to set] — not to play Logan — but because his son was there was really sweet. He really was not involved in the hiring of Deacon,” Norris told Us. “We sort of kept it from him for a little while. Then we came to him and yeah, he would show up.”
Norris continued: “He just didn’t show up the night that [Deacon] had a kiss scene, but it was just super sweet. He loves that kid so much and it shows. And him showing up as the proud dad was pretty great.”
Motorheads is currently streaming on Prime Video.

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The Handmaid’s Tale is finally in its rebellion era — but how was Taylor Swift involved?Warning: Spoilers below for the newest episode of The Handmaid’s Tale:
During the penultimate episode of the hit Hulu series, which premiered on Tuesday, May 20, June (Elisabeth Moss) and the rest of the resistance stormed Gilead while Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” (Taylor’s Version) served as the rebellion’s soundtrack. Despite the song hyping up the well-awaited revenge plan, June and the others didn’t make it far before getting arrested.
June, Moira (Samira Wiley), Janine (Madeline Brewer), other members of the revolution and even Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) were set up to be publicly executed — with June nearly hung to death — before Luke (O-T Fagbenle) and the rest of Mayday saved the day. This led to a massacre of many high-ranking commanders — save Commander Wharton (Josh Charles), who managed to escape with his life. With Wharton, Nick (Max Minghella) and other big names within Gilead still at large, June was able to get Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) to tell her when all the commanders would be reuniting. This then paved the way for another partnership between June and Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford), who agreed to sacrifice himself in order to take the rest of the Gilead hierarchy down.

Lawrence joined Wharton and the other commanders on the plane — knowing he wouldn’t survive the trip. Then, in a last minute twist, Nick also got onboard despite not originally planning to go to Washington D.C. June had to watch as her ex got on the plan while knowing it would explode as soon as it was airborne. The last shot of the episode was June watching the wreckage.
There is only one episode left before The Handmaid’s Tale comes to an end following a six-season run on Hulu. Coshowrunners Yahlin Chang and Eric Tuchman recently teased to Us Weekly how the series wraps up.
“I think we can expect an honest conclusion to the story. We keep using the word honest because we try our best to be realistic,” Tuchman noted. “What would happen in real life — and what we hope people take away — is this feeling of hopefulness and resilience that June and many of the other characters have demonstrated and will demonstrate in the last couple of episodes.”

Disney/Steve Wilkie
He continued: “When you’re up against an oppressive regime and when your rights are stripped away, you just never stop fighting. You keep going. Hopefully people will draw some optimism and feel empowered by what plays out.”
Luckily, The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t ending completely — Hulu has since picked up spinoff The Testaments to series.

The Testaments, which is set 15 years later, is narrated by Aunt Lydia as viewers are thrust back into the dystopian future. Fans will watch characters like Agnes from Gilead and Daisy from Canada as they secretly gather and smuggle incriminating information about Gilead’s regime out of the country. Agnes and Daisy pose as “Pearl Girls” to infiltrate Canada, while Aunt Lydia acts as a covert source within Gilead.

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“Although I could not continue with the story of Offred, I could continue with three other people concerned in these events and tell the story of the beginning of the end, because we know from The Handmaid’s Tale that Gilead vanishes,” Atwood told journalists at an event in 2019. “It’s no longer present 200 years into the future, because they’re having a symposium on it. How did it collapse? How do these kinds of regimes disappear? I was interested in exploring that.”
She continued: “There [are] some new costume choices in this book. Human beings throughout time love outfits that tell you who you’re looking at, like football teams and things like that. So yes, we have some new outfits.”
The Handmaid’s Tale airs Tuesdays and new episodes stream on Hulu.

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