Even Shemar Moore’s heroics can’t save ‘S.W.A.T.’
More Shemar Moore isn’t a bad thing. More S.W.A.T. might be.
CBS’ new take on the S.W.A.T. franchise (Thursday, 10 ET/PT, egEE out of four), is a predictable action series. Although it tries to carve out its own space, the series can’t really make itself something more than a standard cop show. It’s a lesser rehash of the 1970s TV series and 2003 film, despite an exceedingly appealing star.
Created by Aaron Rahsaan Thomas ( Southland, The Get Down), S.W.A.T. starts off with a bang as the team at its center chases weapons dealers and trades bullets on Los Angeles streets. A stray shot from a white cop during a firefight hits a black teen bystander. After protests and pressure, the cop is fired, and Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson (Moore) is promoted to team leader. Hondo takes charge of the team knowing he was promoted mostly for “optics” and tries to make the most of it, despite the fact that he’s sleeping with his new boss, Jessica (Stephanie Sigman).
Moore shines in the series and has a remarkable presence in his scenes that made him a favorite on CBS staple Criminal Minds. For those concerned parties, he appears shirtless more than once in early episodes. His magnetism might have been enough to propel the series forward, but the dynamic actor is saddled with a dull character and clichéd writing.
Hondo is a familiar type, torn between his loyalty to the community and his loyalty to the force. He’s morally unimpeachable and almost always fair and clearheaded, and he is part of a team that always wins in the end. He’s so good that he’s boring, and the supporting characters don’t make up for that deficit. Other than Hondo, Jessica and the team’s fiery new kid, Jim Street (Alex Russell), the rest of the characters are bland and forgettable. Thursday’s premiere demonstrates the series’ biggest weakness when it tries to reckon with police violence and “Black Lives Matter” (although it never uses those words). It’s not a topic that can be wrapped up as neatly as the series requires and instead turns a serious and personal issue into a plot device used to give Hondo a quick and dirty promotion. But once Hondo is the team leader and the premiere ends, the issue is thrown away.
And while subsequent episodes touch on Hondo’s relationship with the community and the tension he feels as a black man on the force, the bigger questions are largely glossed over.
The series is action first, character later, which doesn’t always work to its advantage. The pilot, directed by Justin Lin of the Fast and Furious franchise, has some well-shot sequences, but it can’t generate emotional stakes to make them matter, so the action is more jarring than thrilling.
Ultimately, S.W.A.T. can’t really distinguish itself. It’s a standard cop show that doesn’t add much new either to the franchise or the wider genre.
But hey, it is always really nice to see Shemar Moore.