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| Best Shows Like S.W.A.T. Exiles to Watch Next. |
If S.W.A.T. Exiles left you wanting another series packed with tactical missions, bruised professionals, difficult recruits and enough police drama to make everyone question their career choices, there is plenty to watch next. The 2026 Starz series takes the S.W.A.T. formula into more heavily serialised territory, following Hondo as he tries to turn a collection of talented outsiders into a functioning tactical team after a disastrous operation shakes his faith in the department.
That combination of action, police work, redemption, team-building and generational conflict gives viewers a surprisingly broad selection of alternatives. Some of these shows lean harder into investigations, others into military operations or organised crime, but they share the same basic appeal: capable people under pressure, complicated team dynamics and missions that rarely go according to the nice, tidy plan.
Shows Like S.W.A.T. Exiles
1. S.W.A.T. (2017)
Naturally, the most obvious place to go after S.W.A.T. Exiles is the series that created the world around it. The original follows Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson as he leads a specialised Los Angeles S.W.A.T. team through hostage situations, organised crime cases, terrorist threats and the occasional crisis that apparently cannot wait until Monday morning.
The connection goes well beyond the character. S.W.A.T. Exiles is built as a sequel and spin-off, so its police culture, characters and Los Angeles setting all come from this earlier series. If Exiles feels like the rougher, more serialised younger sibling, the original is the family member who already knows where everything is kept.
2. The Rookie (2018)
The Rookie follows John Nolan, a man who joins the Los Angeles Police Department later in life and has to prove himself alongside considerably younger officers. That makes it an especially natural follow-up for viewers interested in the generational tensions running through S.W.A.T. Exiles.
Both shows put experienced figures alongside younger officers who have something to prove, while balancing action with personal relationships and departmental politics. The difference is that The Rookie can be lighter and more character-driven, whereas Exiles pushes further into tactical drama. Still, watching Nolan survive his first years on the job is a pretty entertaining reminder that nobody really knows what they are doing at first.
3. Chicago P.D. (2014)
Set within the Chicago Police Department, Chicago P.D. centres on Intelligence Unit Sergeant Hank Voight and the officers working under him. The series mixes investigations, street-level crime, internal conflict and the pressure that comes with leading a demanding police unit.
Its strongest connection to S.W.A.T. Exiles is the focus on team loyalty versus institutional rules. Voight's methods regularly create problems for his colleagues, while Hondo's attempt to build a team from departmental outsiders similarly challenges conventional ideas about how a police unit should operate. Both shows understand that the hardest part of police work can sometimes be managing the people standing beside you.
4. SEAL Team (2017)
If the tactical side of S.W.A.T. Exiles is what grabbed you, SEAL Team is an easy recommendation. The military drama follows an elite Navy SEAL unit as its members undertake dangerous missions while dealing with the physical and emotional demands of their profession.
The settings are different, but the storytelling overlap is obvious: elite operators, leadership pressure, difficult missions and a team that has to trust one another when things go wrong. Like Hondo, Jason Hayes and the other senior figures have to balance leadership with the personal cost of repeatedly sending people into dangerous situations. It is basically the same question in a different uniform: how do you keep a team together when the job keeps trying to break it apart?
5. FBI (2018)
FBI follows agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as they investigate major crimes and threats in New York. Created by Dick Wolf, the series combines procedural cases with ongoing character storylines and the pressures of working inside a powerful federal organisation.
For S.W.A.T. Exiles viewers, the attraction comes from the mixture of professional teamwork, high-pressure investigations and institutional responsibility. The characters are expected to follow procedure while also making rapid decisions when circumstances become chaotic. It is less focused on building a tactical squad from outsiders, but the workplace tension is very much there.
6. FBI: Most Wanted (2020)
While FBI focuses on a broader range of federal cases, FBI: Most Wanted puts greater emphasis on a specialised team hunting fugitives. The squad is built around people with different skills who have to work together when cases become particularly difficult.
That specialised-team structure makes it a strong match for S.W.A.T. Exiles. Both series are interested in what happens when people with very different personalities are thrown together because their individual abilities are useful. There is also plenty of tactical action, although FBI: Most Wanted spends more time chasing criminals across jurisdictions than clearing rooms in Los Angeles.
7. The Night Agent (2023)
The Night Agent follows FBI agent Peter Sutherland after he becomes involved in a conspiracy that reaches deep into the US government. What starts as a relatively contained assignment quickly becomes a much larger fight involving secrets, betrayals and people who are considerably more dangerous than their job descriptions suggest.
The series shares S.W.A.T. Exiles' fast pace, conspiracy-driven tension and young protagonist trying to establish himself in a high-stakes professional world. It is more thriller than police procedural, but that is precisely why it works as an alternative. When you want less paperwork and more people running through corridors, this one understands the assignment.
8. Special Ops: Lioness (2023)
Special Ops: Lioness focuses on a CIA programme involving female operatives working alongside military and intelligence personnel on dangerous covert missions. The series moves between field operations and the personal complications created by putting people in situations where mistakes can have enormous consequences.
Like S.W.A.T. Exiles, it is interested in assembling capable people for difficult assignments while examining the human cost of the work. The characters are not simply action figures who conveniently know how to reload. Their relationships, doubts and conflicting loyalties are part of the story, giving the missions greater weight.
9. Mayor of Kingstown (2021)
Mayor of Kingstown takes a considerably darker route, focusing on the McLusky family and their influence over a Michigan town dominated by the prison industry. Police, prisoners, politicians and criminals all collide as the family attempts to maintain an uneasy balance.
The series is not a direct police-team equivalent to S.W.A.T. Exiles, but its institutional tension, morally complicated characters and struggle between order and loyalty make it a worthwhile choice. Both shows also understand that systems can be messy, especially when the people operating inside them are carrying their own baggage.
10. Reacher (2022)
Reacher follows former military investigator Jack Reacher as he becomes involved in criminal conspiracies while travelling from place to place. The series combines investigations with large-scale action and a protagonist who has little patience for bureaucracy.
That last part alone should make it familiar territory for anyone enjoying Hondo's increasingly complicated relationship with the institution around him. Reacher is more of a lone-wolf story, but it shares military expertise, tactical thinking, investigations and explosive confrontations with S.W.A.T. Exiles. The major difference is that Reacher does not need to spend half his day organising a team meeting.
11. The Terminal List (2022)
The Terminal List centres on Navy SEAL James Reece after a mission goes disastrously wrong and he begins uncovering a larger conspiracy. The series combines military action with a deeply personal investigation as Reece searches for answers.
Its connection to S.W.A.T. Exiles is particularly strong around the theme of what happens after a catastrophic operation. Hondo's decision to leave the force is shaped by the death of Nico Reyes, while Reece's story similarly begins with the consequences of a failed mission. Both explore how professional failure can permanently change someone's relationship with the organisation they once trusted.
12. Bosch (2014)
Bosch follows Los Angeles homicide detective Harry Bosch, a veteran investigator whose determination to solve cases frequently puts him at odds with colleagues, suspects and the department itself.
The biggest similarity is the Los Angeles setting and veteran officer at the centre of the story. Bosch is not running a young tactical unit, but like Hondo he carries years of experience and has a strong personal code that does not always sit comfortably alongside institutional expectations. The slower investigative pace also provides a useful change of gear after Exiles' more action-heavy episodes.
13. The Shield (2002)
The Shield is an older but highly influential crime drama centred on Vic Mackey and the Strike Team, a specialised police unit operating in Los Angeles. The series examines crime, police power, loyalty and the consequences of bending the rules.
Its connection to S.W.A.T. Exiles is especially strong through the idea of a specialised Los Angeles police team dealing with intense internal and external pressure. The two shows approach police culture differently, but both put considerable emphasis on the relationship between team loyalty and institutional authority. If that conflict interests you, The Shield has plenty to say about it.
14. Strike Back (2010)
Strike Back follows members of a multinational special operations unit as they tackle military and terrorist threats around the world. It is considerably more international than S.W.A.T. Exiles, with the action regularly moving far beyond one city.
Still, the fundamental appeal is similar: specialised teams, tactical operations, clashing personalities and missions that become complicated very quickly. Strike Back is also far more interested in military combat, making it a good choice when you want to turn the action dial up several notches.
15. Criminal Minds (2005)
Criminal Minds follows the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit as its members investigate serial offenders and complex criminal cases across the United States. The team's expertise is psychological rather than primarily tactical, but the ensemble structure makes it surprisingly compatible with S.W.A.T. Exiles.
Both series depend on a group of specialists learning how to function as one unit. Each member has a distinct personality and professional skill set, while the cases put pressure on relationships inside the team. The difference is that Criminal Minds usually tries to figure out what is happening inside someone's head before anyone starts kicking down a door.
16. SEAL Team Six (2017)
Six, also known as SEAL Team Six, follows a Navy SEAL unit carrying out covert missions while dealing with threats overseas and complications within their own lives. The series puts considerable emphasis on the relationships between operators as well as the consequences of their work.
Its strongest similarity to S.W.A.T. Exiles comes from the team-first storytelling and pressure on experienced leaders. Both are interested in how professional trust is built and maintained when people have wildly different personalities. The setting is military rather than municipal policing, but the basic team dynamic remains familiar.
17. Echo 3 (2022)
Echo 3 follows two elite soldiers as they become involved in a dangerous search and rescue mission in South America. What begins as a personal mission develops into a wider military and geopolitical situation.
The series shares Exiles' interest in experienced operators dealing with intense personal stakes while navigating dangerous missions. Its story is more international and politically complicated, but the emphasis on loyalty, sacrifice and operational pressure gives it a similar dramatic rhythm.
18. The Rookie: Feds (2022)
The Rookie: Feds follows Simone Clark, an older trainee who joins the FBI after spending years working in education. The series expands the world of The Rookie while placing a new character inside another demanding law-enforcement environment.
The generational angle makes this particularly relevant to S.W.A.T. Exiles. Hondo has to turn younger outsiders into a credible tactical team, while Simone has to establish herself in an organisation where her unconventional route into federal law enforcement immediately makes her stand out. Both shows enjoy putting people who do not fit the standard mould in situations where they have to prove everyone wrong.
19. Tracker (2024)
Tracker follows Colter Shaw, a travelling reward seeker who uses his investigative skills to help people locate missing individuals and solve difficult cases. He operates independently, moving between towns and cases rather than working within a conventional police squad.
It may sound like a different beast, but there is an obvious connection through problem-solving under pressure and protagonists who rely on experience rather than blindly following procedure. Tracker is also more character-focused and occasionally lighter, making it useful when you want the investigative side of Exiles without quite as much institutional drama.
20. Lioness (2023)
Lioness places women at the centre of a CIA programme designed around covert operations and intelligence work. Its story moves between recruitment, preparation and dangerous field assignments, creating a strong emphasis on the process of turning individuals into an effective operational team.
That makes it particularly close to the team-building element of S.W.A.T. Exiles. Hondo has to identify potential in recruits who do not fit the traditional mould, while Lioness similarly explores how unconventional personnel can become valuable assets. Both shows also ask how much personal sacrifice is reasonable when the mission comes first.
21. 9-1-1 (2018)
9-1-1 follows first responders in Los Angeles as firefighters, police officers, dispatchers and paramedics deal with emergencies ranging from everyday disasters to extraordinary crises. The show is broader than S.W.A.T. Exiles, but its ensemble structure and high-pressure Los Angeles setting make the connection easy to see.
Like Exiles, it puts professional teams under constant pressure while giving considerable space to their relationships outside the job. The characters have to trust one another quickly because the emergencies rarely wait for everyone to finish processing their feelings. It is more emotional and sometimes considerably more outrageous, but that is part of its charm.
For me, the appeal of S.W.A.T. Exiles is not simply the gunfire, tactical gear or familiar Los Angeles backdrop. The more interesting idea is Hondo being forced to build something useful from people the system has already decided are difficult, unreliable or simply not ready. That gives the series a stronger character engine than a standard case-of-the-week procedural. The shows above hit different pieces of that formula.
Some concentrate on tactical action, some on damaged veterans, others on young recruits trying to prove themselves, while a few are primarily interested in the uneasy relationship between an individual and the institution they work for. The Rookie, SEAL Team, Chicago P.D. and The Shield come particularly close to different sides of that setup, while The Night Agent and Lioness offer more thriller-driven alternatives. And yes, sometimes you really can tell a story is serious because everyone owns approximately seventeen tactical vests.
If S.W.A.T. Exiles is the reason you're looking for your next police or action drama, which of these shows would you put at the top of your watchlist? Or is there another series you think belongs in the conversation? Drop your pick in the comments and let the debate begin.