S.W.A.T. is a procedural straining for relevance: EW review

Photo: Bill Inoshita/CBS

CBS’ new drama S.W.A.T., starring Shemar Moore as a SWAT lieutenant abruptly tasked to run a specialized LAPD unit, has plenty of potential: It’s executive produced by The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, stars an appealing ensemble of familiar actors, and features a visual distinctiveness courtesy of pilot director Justin Lin. Unfortunately, when it comes to story, the show needs to get out of its own way.

Developed by TV veteran Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, S.W.A.T. is a loose remake of the short-lived 1975 television series of the same name, and it seems torn between smartly executing its premise and adapting to the confines of a CBS cop procedural.

The pilot’s chaotic opening sequence ends in unexpected tragedy; from there, the show adopts the gritty, complicated nature of community policing as its primary concern. Yet for every scene that astutely tackles the sensitive subject — like when a young black man addresses his neighbors from behind a microphone and passionately calls out police brutality — there’s a numbing shootout or car chase to undercut it. You can feel the show’s unwillingness to take that necessary extra step. So far, it pays lip service to Black Lives Matter and other timely issues without sufficiently exploring them.

Moore, as he first proved on Criminal Minds, is a dependable and flexible lead here, as convincing a conflicted cop as he is a smoldering romantic hero. Yet he and the rest of the cast — including Shield veteran Kenny Johnson and Better Off Ted’s Jay Harrington — are handed some pretty dire dialogue. Thomas’ writing simply isn’t natural in the more intimate moments, and he skates by on cop clichés when the action kicks into gear. It’s reasonable to hope that Ryan’s influence, as a writer who’s mastered the complexities of the police genre several times before, can help the show make good on its potential as it evolves over time. Because as it stands, Lin’s aesthetic palette may be admirably fresh for broadcast, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of characterization, S.W.A.T. can’t help but feel as stale as the show it’s ostensibly modernizing. C+