Shemar Moore was a regular presence on the small screen for more than a decade thanks to his role as Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds, but he left the show behind (aside from a couple of guest appearances) back in Season 11. He's poised to make a big return to primetime with new series S.W.A.T. on CBS. The new show is a reboot of the 1975 S.W.A.T. TV series and the 2003 feature film of the same name. Moore stars as S.W.A.T. sergeant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson, who is tasked with bridging the divide between the authorities as a S.W.A.T. leader and the Los Angeles community, to which he has close ties. Read on for a few reasons why fans of Shemar Moore will love what S.W.A.T. has to offer!
Shemar Moore As Leading Man
As a Criminal Minds regular from the very first season, fans got to see Shemar Moore in primetime for eleven years. Still, Criminal Minds is more of an ensemble series than a starring vehicle for any particular actor. Fans got to see what Moore could do as a major character and a series regular, but not a leading man. S.W.A.T. puts Shemar Moore in the spotlight as star of the series, and he carries the show quite well. Hondo is a different character than Derek Morgan, and he's the heart and soul of the entire S.W.A.T. team. If you've been wondering if Moore has what it takes to anchor a series, S.W.A.T. can give you your answer.
The Action Is Intense
As would be expected out of a show about a S.W.A.T. team, this new series is full of action, ranging from gunfights to raids to brawls. Any functional S.W.A.T. unit is obviously going to be quite skilled in the field, and the team members' expertise could have made any conflicts feel somewhat one-sided and less than thrilling. S.W.A.T. has managed to craft intense action without dumbing down Hondo and the other experienced members of the team. The action is just plain intense when it picks up, and it should keep viewers on the edges of their seats. There's more to the series than the action, but the action sufficiently raises the stakes in some positive ways.
Not Just Another Reboot
Reboots and remakes are all the rage on television nowadays, and S.W.A.T. was one of many to be announced over the last year. Some of those that have premiered so far have been cut-and-dry do-overs of an original premise, merely updated and adapted for 2017, and it was difficult to say just based on the trailer whether or not S.W.A.T. would stand out from the pack. The good news is that S.W.A.T. avoids simply recreating something that has been done before. Shemar Moore's version of Hondo is unlike the Hondos who have come before, and nobody would likely even be able to tell that S.W.A.T. is a reboot if not for title and name of the protagonist. S.W.A.T. is one of the fresher reboots to hit the airwaves, and it should be fun to watch.
You can catch the S.W.A.T. series premiere on November 2 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS, with new episodes to follow on Thursdays at 10 p.m. For more reboots and revivals that are in the works, check out our big breakdown of projects in development.
