Trivia / S.W.A.T. (2017)

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• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Stephanie Sigman is bilingual in English/Spanish, which she uses in the episode "Los Huesos". The same goes for Lina Esco, who also speaks in Spanish frequently on the show. Both are also Latinas of course like Jessica Cortez and Chris Alonso.
  • Additionally, Esco is a rape survivor like Chris, as she revealed once.
  • Kenny Johnson is also dyslexic like Luca is.
  • Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara from BuzzFeed Unsolved cameo as a pair of UFO hunters with a Youtube show, which is essentially what they are in real life.
  • Lyndie Greenwood, like Erika Rogers, is biracial with black and white parents.
• California Doubling: Averted - in addition to the bulk of the series being set and shot in Los Angeles, there are episodes set in Japan, Mexico and Thailand, all of which were shot on location.
• Cast the Expert: Real life San Diego Police S.W.A.T. officer Otis Gallop, the show's technical adviser, plays Sergeant Stevens in the series.
• Directed by Cast Member:
  • Alex Russell, who plays Jim Street, directed the Season 5 episode "Safe House".
  • Lina Esco, who plays Chris Alonso, directed the Season 5 episode "Donor".
  • Jay Harrington, who plays David "Deacon" Kay, directed the Season 6 episode "All That Glitters".
• Fake American:
  • Alex Russell (Australian) as Jim Street.
  • Canadian Lyndie Greenwood played Erika Rogers.
• Follow the Leader: To Hawaii Five-0 & MacGyver (2016), two other retro action series rebooted by CBS that previously aired on ABC. Notably, S.W.A.T. is the only series to receive this treatment that isn’t part of the Bellisarioverse.
• Hey, It's That Place!: The Brandeis-Bardin Institute library (most recognizable for being used as the original Command Centre for the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers) appeared in episode 4x08, as the Weiss Jewish Community Centre.
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine:
  • Several actors have previous interaction with Kenny Johnson (Luca) from their work on Saving Grace, where Johnson plays Detective Ham Dewey, Grace's partner/lover:
    • Patrick St. Esprit (Hicks) plays Leo Hanadarko (reoccurring), Grace's homosexual older brother. He and Johnson are also reoccurring characters on Sons of Anarchy.
    • Obba Babatundé (Hondo's father) plays a previous owner of Grace's car in one episode.
    • Jack Conely (Weller, "S.O.S.") plays Nick Dewey, Ham's older brother. He was also on two episodes of The Shield in which Johnson stars as Curtius Lemansky for five seasons.
    • David Marciano (Steve Billings) also worked with Kenny Johnson on The Shield; this is also a cameo of the character.
  • Taye Diggs was friends with Jay Harrington in college; it’s no coincidence that Diggs guest starred in the first episode Harrington directed in the series.
• Playing Against Type: Jay Harrington is primarily known as a comedic actor (like in Better Off Ted and Benched) but takes on a dramatically heavy action role as Deacon Kay in this series.
• Produced by Cast Member: Shemar Moore is both a producer and the lead actor on the series.
• Real-Life Relative:
  • Kelly, the dyslexic girl whom Luca becomes a mentor to, is played by Kenny Johnson's real-life daughter, Jelli.
  • Katie, the flight attendant who flirts with Street in 5x19, is played by Diana Hopper, Alex Russell’s fiancé.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • Kenny Johnson suffered a hip injury during the second season, which was subsequently written into the show to explain Luca being removed from active field duty for the majority of the season. Johnson’s subsequent law suit against Sony Pictures Television over the injury would see him miss the first half of the fourth season.
  • The COVID-19 viral pandemic was written into the fourth season, as were the "Black Lives Matters" protests of Summer 2020; both issues being considered too big for the show to simply ignore.
  • Lina Esco asked if Chris could be written out by Season 5 as she was interested in pursuing other TV/movie opportunities when possible.
• Recycled Script: The Season 4 subplot revolving around Darrel & Carl Henderson, and Hondo’s apprehension over their relationship, is very similar to the first season’s subplot revolving around Street & his mother.
• Screwed by the Network: Despite strong ratings, the show was canceled due to a contract dispute between CBS and Sony Pictures Television, the lead studio that produced it. In short, CBS wanted to keep renewing the show at a flat license fee, and Sony was not willing to budge, as that would mean squeezing the show's rising budget further. Three days later, the show was uncancelled due to strong backlash, including from Shemar Moore.
• Similarly Named Works: The episode "The Fugitive" does not feature Dr. Richard Kimble, Lt. Philip Gerard or a one-armed man.
• Those Two Actors: Shemar Moore and Rochelle Aytes played a couple on Criminal Minds. Aytes was cast in the third season of S.W.A.T. as Hondo’s new Love Interest Nichelle.
• Troubled Production: As with most television shows in production in early 2020, S.W.A.T. was forced to shutdown production before completion of the season due to the COVID-19 outbreak. An episode that was going to feature flashbacks to the L.A. Riots of Hondo’s youth was pushed back to the following season, albeit rewritten to reflect the political landscape of 2020 (see Real Life Writes the Plot).

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