Television series
S.W.A.T.: Exiles
A STARZ continuation of the S.W.A.T. universe that swaps the department procedural rhythm for something rawer: Hondo, forced out of retirement, has to whip a squad of young washouts and wildcards into a functioning team before the program folds. Expect tactical action beats alongside a mentorship story about generational friction, trust, and what it costs to rebuild after failure.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy a hardened lead forced to babysit a bunch of mouthy newcomers, where the friction within the crew matters as much as the set-piece action.
Skip it if you want gritty, grounded realism or a slow-burn character study, since this is a glossy, mission-driven action drama that leans on a familiar team-building path.
What it asks of you: Ten episodes of roughly an hour each, with a brisk tempo and a mostly earnest tone that keeps its banter on a short leash.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
SEAL Team2017
A grizzled team leader dragging a younger, greener generation up to operational standard while wrestling with his own burnout — the exact emotional engine Exiles is running on, just with a Navy budget.
But Six-plus seasons deep and increasingly heavy on military procedure; the earnest patriotism can feel thick if that's not your thing.
Chicago P.D.2014
The Intelligence Unit is basically a rotating cast of morally gray misfits held together by one dominant personality — Voight instead of Hondo — and the show never runs out of ways to test their loyalty.
But Increasingly grim and cynical about policing itself, and the Chicago-verse crossover machinery can feel like homework.
The Rookie2018
An older guy starting over inside a young department, earning trust the hard way — lighter and warmer than Exiles will likely be, but built on the same bones of late-career reinvention.
But Sunnier and more procedural-of-the-week than character study; case-by-case plotting can feel disposable.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from S.W.A.T.: Exiles
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Dirty Dozen1967
Same premise, stripped to its studs: an outcast leader forging expendable misfits into a team under impossible pressure. Exiles is this story with a badge instead of dog tags.
A disgraced officer is handed a squad of criminals and washouts and told to turn them into a functioning unit for one last shot at redemption — this is the blueprint Exiles is quietly remaking, sixty years earlier and in fatigues instead of tactical vests.
But Dated in its politics and pacing, and the violence is blunt rather than stylish by modern standards.
More like this (8)
The Shield2002
The urtext for morally compromised elite police units — a small, tight squad operating on its own rules, and the show that made every subsequent tactical-unit drama look tame by comparison.
But Brutal and bleak with barely a redemption arc in sight; not a comfort watch.
Southland2009
Unglamorous, handheld, LA-set policing that treats burnout and rookie terror as the real subject rather than the plot device — a good tonal counterweight if you want the grit without the swagger.
But Deliberately unresolved and downbeat; episodes end mid-thought rather than tied up.
Third Watch1999
Cops, medics and firefighters thrown together as an ensemble under constant pressure — an earlier, sturdier model of the multi-generational first-responder team drama Exiles is aiming for.
But Early-2000s pacing and production values; it takes patience to click with the ensemble.
Blue Bloods2010
If the generational-divide angle is what hooks you, this is the genre's comfort-food version — family, duty, and law enforcement passed down like an inheritance, dinner table included.
But Conservative in both politics and structure; very much a Friday-night-with-your-parents kind of show.
Flashpoint2008
A Canadian tactical unit show that leans hard into negotiation and de-escalation rather than shootouts — a quieter, more procedural cousin worth knowing if Exiles goes heavier on the operational detail.
But Formulaic and earnest to a fault; the moral lessons arrive pretty neatly packaged.
Hawaii Five-02010
An ensemble task force built around one central leader mentoring a loyal, mismatched crew — glossier and more escapist, but the found-family scaffolding is nearly identical.
But Ten seasons of increasingly repetitive case structure; go in for the cast chemistry, not the plots.
Cheer2020
Strip away the guns and the format and you get the identical emotional machine: a demanding leader, a squad of talented outsiders with something to prove, and the question of whether discipline can save people who've been failed elsewhere.
A documentary about a junior college cheer coach welding together broken, unpredictable young athletes into a championship team — the mentorship arc Exiles is dramatizing, except this one is real and hits harder because of it.
But It's a sports documentary with real injuries and real trauma, not action television; the tonal jump might be too far for some viewers.
Friday Night Lights2006
Both are about a demanding older man who becomes a surrogate father to young people the system has written off, and about whether a team can actually fix a person. FNL just proves it can be done without a single gunfight.
A coach in a small town builds cohesion and character out of a rotating roster of troubled, gifted kids — trade the SWAT vests for shoulder pads and you've got the same show, quieter and more devastating.
But Almost no action in the way Exiles promises; it's slow, small-town, and emotionally driven rather than plot-driven.
People
Cast
Writing
- Jason NingCreator
Production
- James ScuraExecutive Producer
- Jason NingExecutive Producer
- Neal H. MoritzExecutive Producer
- Pavun ShettyExecutive Producer
- Shemar MooreExecutive Producer