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We’re pretty sure S.W.A.T. fans have all heard the news by now that, while the show has ended after eight seasons (for real this time), it will still be continuing in a way with the spinoff series, S.W.A.T. Exiles. That’s good news for fans, but it also comes with the caveat that the only character to carry over to the new series will be Shemar Moore’s Hondo.

That means that the rest of the ensemble cast won’t be returning. That’s something that David Lim, who’s play Officer Victor Tan for all eight series of the original series reflected on over on his Instagram page. And it wasn’t all happy reflection.

After a week of sitting with the news, he decided to speak up honestly about how it felt.

“I poured my heart into playing Tan,” he shared, “and even more than that, into the team and friendships we built on and off screen. What made S.W.A.T. special wasn’t just the action, or one character. It was the squad. The bond. The camaraderie. The shared blood, sweat, tears, and laughs we gave to every episode. That effortless chemistry was there from the very first day we came together for the pilot, and it carried through all eight seasons.”

They all fought for a ninth season, he writes, but while they were successful in getting the show un-canceled twice for an seventh and eighth season, they couldn’t pull it off for a third time. And that, he says was OK. Everything has its time. But what felt less OK was the show moving on without most of the ensemble cast.

Check out his full post below, along with a picture packed full of everyone who made S.W.A.T. possible over the years.

“I’d be lying if I said the rollout of the new spinoff didn’t sting,” he shared. And that was especially true with the news coming just days after S.W.A.T.’s final episode aired, and “with no mention of the cast who helped build S.W.A.T. from day one. After eight 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.”

The bright spot, though, has been the fans. They’ve stepped up, he notes, writing that, “I’ve seen the comments, the messages, the support — and it truly means a lot. I may not know what the future holds for Tan, but I couldn’t be more proud of what we created together — our cast, writers, producers, crew… our S.W.A.T. family. No version of this story can take that away.”

And, as Lim noted, who knows what the future holds? S.W.A.T. survived two cancellations, and the third one brought about a spinoff. There could be other spinoffs down the line and Tan and the rest of crew could still appear on S.W.A.T. Exiles.

We’ll wait and see, but fingers crossed this isn’t the end of the squad.