The 2025 TV schedule has been a wild time for the world of S.W.A.T., because the present’s third cancellation by CBS has really caught and not using a last-minute rescue. Shortly after the collection finale aired on the community, nonetheless, information broke that main man Shemar Moore would really be reprising his function as Hondo for a brand new spinoff referred to as S.W.A.T. Exiles with a brand new solid. For Rochelle Aytes, who recurred on the drama between Seasons 3-8, she nonetheless has a house on CBS due to Watson, and he or she spoke with CinemaBlend about sticking round after S.W.A.T.
Lower than two months after Rochelle Aytes’ remaining look in S.W.A.T. as Nichelle Carmichael reverse former Prison Minds co-star Shemar Moore, she debuted as Dr. Mary Morstan reverse Morris Chestnut on CBS’ new doctor-detective drama Watson. The primary-season present earned an early Season 2 renewal, which Aytes described as “only a blessing.” I went on to ask the actress the way it feels for her to have Watson as a brand new CBS house with S.W.A.T.‘s finish then looming, and he or she shared:
It is bittersweet, as a result of I actually did take pleasure in my 5 years on S.W.A.T., however it’s simply such a blessing. I am so grateful to CBS for holding me within the household, holding me working, and it is one more great character that I get to reside in and play. The solid of S.W.A.T. [and] the crew was superb. Now I am blessed to have an incredible solid and crew on Watson, so I could not ask for the rest.
The early renewal for Watson did not come as an enormous shock, after it received off to a really robust begin with its post-NFL premiere in January. Plus, per CBS, viewership numbers ranked the collection premiere as CBS’ most-watched scripted episode of the 2024-2025 TV season in addition to the most-streamed CBS Authentic scripted episode. Viewers weren’t essentially lacking out in the event that they weren’t watching reside on CBS; followers have been clearly testing the drama with a Paramount+ subscription as properly.
However after working with Shemar Moore on Prison Minds after which extra repeatedly on S.W.A.T., what has it been like for Rochelle Aytes to have The Resident‘s Morris Chestnut as a co-star? I requested Aytes that very query, and he or she solely had good issues to say about Chestnut as Dr. John Watson. She stated:
Working with Morris has been such a deal with. Initially, he’s such a pleasant human being. He is able to work. He is skilled. He is so candy, and we simply discuss concerning the characters. We rehearse. He is at all times keen to go over strains as a lot as potential, and he is proper there. He is so there for me and I am there for him. I believe due to that, we’re capable of join and belief one another, and I believe that that’ll proceed to develop… It is extra like we’re a crew, and it has been enjoyable to work with him.
Fortunately, the massive demise of the Season 1 finale wasn’t Mary or John, so we’ll get to see extra of the exes when Season 2 premieres. The one unlucky information is that the second season will get a midseason premiere identical to the primary did, which suggests no extra Watson till early 2026 as a part of CBS’ 2025-2026 TV lineup reveal.
For now, followers can at all times revisit the 13-episode first season of Watson streaming on Paramount+, in addition to the eighth and remaining season of S.W.A.T. For the primary seven seasons, you may have to make use of a Netflix subscription.
As Shemar Moore himself famous when he was nonetheless pushing for the present to be rescued, the action-drama was a success with streaming on Netflix. As for S.W.A.T. Exiles, no community or platform has been introduced for the spinoff on the time of writing, so the wait is on for updates.