''S.W.A.T.'' is an American action/

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series about the adventures of a Special Weapons And Tactics (S.W.A.T.) team operating in an unidentified Californian city, although filming was done in and around

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. A

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of '' The Rookies'', the series aired for two seasons on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from February 1975 to April 1976.

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...

and Leonard Goldberg were executive producers. It was created by Robert Hamner and developed by

Rick Husky Rick Husky (born May 6, 1940) is an American television writer and producer perhaps best known for creating the television series ''T. J. Hooker''. Husky is also known for such television series as '' Mission: Impossible''; ''Charlie's Angels''; ...

. ''S.W.A.T.'' stars Steve Forrest as the unit's leader, Lt. "Hondo" Harrelson, Robert Urich as Officer Jim Street,

Rod Perry Rodney Cornell Perry (born September 11, 1953) is an American football coach and former professional player who is the defensive backs coach for the Oregon State Beavers. He played as a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL), primar ...

as Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay,

Mark Shera Mark Shera (born July 10, 1949, Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American film and television actor. Shera was cast from 1975 to 1976 in the television series ''S.W.A.T.'' in the role of Officer Dominic Luca. He also played J.R. in the television ser ...

as Officer Dominic Luca, and James Coleman as Officer T.J. McCabe. The opening theme was composed by Barry De Vorzon. The

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

for the series was a two-part episode of '' The Rookies'' titled "S.W.A.T." (February 17, 1975).

Synopsis

The series is known for its instrumental

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

composed by Barry De Vorzon which became a number-one hit single in 1976 for

Rhythm Heritage Rhythm Heritage was a 1970s American disco- funk band, best known for their 1976 US number one single " Theme from ''S.W.A.T.''". It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America ( ...

. The

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with visu ...

that used that piece was also familiar with the principal characters responding to a muster signal, grabbing their weapons and running to their specially equipped transport van driven by "Sam", an uncredited, non-speaking role. The show's setting was rarely, if ever, specified and the shoulder patch the team members wore on their uniforms said, "W.C.P.D." Richard Kelbaugh, a former member of the

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

's S.W.A.T. team, was the

technical advisor In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Nipo T. Strongheart Nipo T. Stronghear ...

for the series. WCPD stood for Western California Police Department.

Cast

* Steve Forrest as Lt. Dan "Hondo" Harrelson (team leader) * Robert Urich as Officer Jim Street *

as Sgt. David "Deacon" Kay *

as Officer Dominic Luca * James Coleman as Officer Travis Joseph "T.J." McCabe (scout/sniper) *

Ellen Weston Ellen Weston (born Ellen Weinstein) is an American actress, producer, and writer. Early years Born in New York City, Weston is the daughter of educators; her mother was a teacher, and her father was a superintendent of schools. She attended Perfor ...

as Betty Harrelson (recurring role) *

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night ...

as Hilda (recurring role) *

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

as Chief Roman (recurring role)

Episodes

Broadcast and syndication

On October 1, 2011, ''S.W.A.T.'' began airing on Antenna TV for a period of time and in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...

in 2012. In May 2016, it began airing on getTV. In December 2021, it aired on

Rewind TV Rewind TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group, and is a spinoff/sister network of Antenna TV. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1980s to the early 2000 ...

. The series occasionally airs in weekend binges on the

OTA OTA or ota may stand for: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Off the Air'', an Adult Swim television series * Otakon, an annual anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland Electronics, science, and technology * Ochratoxin A (also termed OTA), a mycoto ...

network Decades.

Home media

DVD

The first season of ''S.W.A.T.'' was released on DVD on June 3, 2003 to tie in with the release of the feature film. Season Two's episode "Time Bomb" was actually produced for Season One and, as such, "Time Bomb" is Episode 8 on the Season One DVD set. The Season One DVD set has a total of 13 episodes. On February 10, 2012, it was announced that

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...

had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released the second and final season on DVD on May 22, 2012. On January 16, 2018, Mill Creek Entertainment released ''S.W.A.T.: The Complete Series'' on DVD in Region 1.

Streaming

As of March 2009, the show can be purchased on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Reception

The violent television series premiered at a time when violence on television began to become a subject of controversy, and the actual Los Angeles

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team on which the fictional team had been modeled was harshly critical of its depiction of such teams.

Film adaptation

A film version of the series, ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'', was released in 2003 starring Colin Farrell and

Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...

. Steve Forrest has a cameo role as a police truck driver and Rod Perry (the original TV series' "Deacon" Kay) plays the father of

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

's character Deacon "Deke" Kaye. In 2011 and 2017, a direct-to-DVD sequels titled '' S.W.A.T.: Firefight'' and '' S.W.A.T.: Under Siege'' were released; they bore little connection to the TV series, the 2003 film or even each other.

Television series remake

On May 12, 2017, a new version of ''S.W.A.T.'' starring Shemar Moore as Hondo was ordered to series by CBS. The new series premiered on November 2, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:SWAT (Tv series) S.W.A.T. (franchise) 1970s American crime drama television series 1975 American television series debuts 1976 American television series endings American action television series American Broadcasting Company original programming English-language television shows Fictional portrayals of the Los Angeles Police Department Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Spelling Television Television shows adapted into films Television shows set in Los Angeles American television spin-offs