Production kicked off on S.W.A.T. Season 8 this past July, and 20 Squad is going to look a little different when the series returns in October. The twice-saved CBS procedural said goodbye to not one but two main characters during Season 7, which was thought to mark the show's end. With Street and Luca no longer in the mix, the team was struggling to find new members fit for the family. It's now known that one of those newcomers is Chicago Fire vet Annie Ilonzeh, who is discussing her new character and why Shemar Moore's Hondo recruited her.
It was previously announced that Annie Ilonzeh would recur as Devin Gamble, a “standout LAPD rookie” who left for Oakland due to a crime her father committed. Now that 20-Squad has some open spots, Hondo is tapping Gamble for the squad. Ilonzeh tells TV Insider just how far back the two characters go and, apparently, for Shemar Moore’s sergeant, this recruitment has been a long time coming:
Hondo saw that sparkle, that 'it' factor, when she was a rookie in the LAPD a little over 10 years ago and said, 'I want her in 20 squad.' [Back then] he took Gamble under his wing. When her dad’s shady past boiled over, Hondo decided, 'let me protect you' and got Gamble to Oakland so that she didn’t catch the backlash.
In S.W.A.T.'s Season 7 finale (which wasn't changed due to the planned cancelation, Hondo addressed Commander Hicks about how he doesn’t just want people to fill his team. When it comes to any team he leads, he wants to make sure that a person is the right fit, as he wants 20-Squad to have a family dynamic in and out of the field.
Even before Hondo was leading the team, he knew he wanted Gamble to be part of it, which shows right off the bat just how special she is. There’s also the fact that Devin is a “badass and works her ass off. She can shoot. She’s super dope. She’s athletic,” according to Annie Ilonzeh. With that combined femininity and masculinity, she sounds like she could bring a lot to the team.
It sounds like fans will learn more about Gable's backstory with each episode and see how she meshes with the rest of the team. The Arrow alum also revealed that her S.W.A.T. character will have an interesting dynamic with one particular character on the long-running procedural:
Her family will show up later in the season. We’ll see the tug of war. The audience will understand why Gamble is hard on herself and so determined to be the best SWAT member on 20 squad. A lot has to do with her father and what he’s done and who he is and a kind of redemption. . . . Deacon and Gamble have great conversations about their fathers. That’s really surprising — the similar backgrounds with their father figures. She’s earning everyone’s trust, and it’s a fun dynamic to play with that kind of shadow cast over her.
It’s intriguing to hear that Deacon will bond with Gamble, in a way, especially since he was initially going to retire from 20-Squad at the end of Season 7. As a fan, I'm looking forward to seeing them bond over their fathers, especially since there isn’t too much that fans know about Deacon’s parents. While his father is likely not a known criminal, it sounds like there are some similarities and possibly open wounds from Deacon’s childhood.
S.W.A.T. has certainly entered a new era, and I'm eager to see if Hondo's decision to bring Devin into the fold proves to be the right move. Fans will soon see what the character is all about when Season 8 premieres on Friday, October 18 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS as part of the 2024 TV schedule. In the meantime, you can catch up on episodes using a Paramount+ subscription.
