The surprise announcement of S.W.A.T. Exiles gets an honest response from veteran star Jay Harrington. Only hours after the S.W.A.T. series finale, it was announced that Shemar Moore would reprise the role of Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, Jr. for a spinoff that would feature a largely new cast. The announcement came from Sony Pictures Television, which produces the action drama series, and took many viewers by surprise.

Harrington shared his candid thoughts on the S.W.A.T. spinoff. The actor, who has played the role of David “Deacon” Kay since the premiere of S.W.A.T., was asked how he found out about the planned Exiles series. In the quote below, Harrington shares how he learned of the news and reflects on how he feels about the project. Read his full quote below:

It was the day before. Shemar reached out to to all of us to say, “This is what’s going on…,” and, you know, there’s talk that they’ll reach out to us about stuff. He wanted to be the one to tell us, and say “your reps will find out shortly.” That’s when I told my reps, and they had no idea.

Look, I’ll be very clear. I’ve been in this business for a long time. You don’t get “owed” things just because you put in your time. If that’s the route they’re going to go, I wish it success. It’s just a fine line between “owed” and “just let me know,” for the studio just to say, “Hey, this is what we’re thinking…. It’s a new idea, but this is the route we gotta go, and unfortunately the way it’s structured, we want to make a clean break, start fresh.” Well, what do you say to that? “OK, well, good luck!” So if there was any disappointment, it’s that when they announced it, we weren’t mentioned at all. That was it. And it was short-lived because I thought, “I’m not going to let that take away from what I know in my heart is eight years of putting in some great work.”

What Harrington’s Comments Mean For The S.W.A.T. Spinoff

It’s A Mixed Bag

Harrington gives a substantive interview, in which he expresses mixed feelings about S.W.A.T. Exiles overall. One of the positives about the spinoff, which will hail from Lucifer showrunner Jason Ning, is that it will keep the original S.W.A.T. behind-the-scenes crew employed. That includes Harrington’s brother. The actor also addresses the controversial remarks from Moore, in which he referred to himself as the Tom Brady of the action drama series.

Harrington says, in part: “I heard about it — I didn’t see it — and then when I saw it, I said, “I know this guy and he’s not trying to diminish us,” because, hey, if he’s using that analogy, Julian Edelman. Rob Gronkowski… they’re pretty solid athletes themselves and [potential] Hall of Famers. I tried to not take that as a personal anything.”

The issue for Harrington, along with other actors like David Lim, is the abrupt way S.W.A.T. Exiles was announced. This was said to be in part because Sony Pictures Television was eager to get the project in front of potential buyers at a recent event since the spinoff still doesn’t have a platform. In any case, Sony execs have since indicated that the door is open for former S.W.A.T. cast members to reprise their roles in some capacity.

Our Take On Harrington’s S.W.A.T. Future

Deacon Needs To Come Back

Outside of Moore coming back as Hondo, there is currently no casting news for S.W.A.T. Exiles. But if any of Hondo’s friends could make their way back for the spinoff, Harrington arguably makes the most sense to at least recur. His presence would put the spinoff, a bit contentious so far, on a better path to success.