Contains spoilers for “S.W.A.T.” Season 8, Episode 22 — “Return to Base”

“What are we waiting for? Gear up. Let’s go save this city.” So says Hondo (Shemar Moore) at the end of “S.W.A.T.,” and a more fitting ending could not have existed for the series. Hondo comes forth with that order when his group of rough-and-tough law enforcement agents heads out to provide backup for an armed robbery call. After an episode that saw the team’s headquarters take serious damage and a squad member nearly leave, it’s a sign that business will continue as usual for Twenty Squad long beyond that last shot. It’s also a fond last salute to Hondo’s signature catchphrase, which he’s repeated more times than fans can count over the course of the action series’ eight season run. 

During previous episodes, Hondo has also thrown out a “Let’s roll.” That’s a major reference to the original Hondo, Steve Forrest’s, catchphrase, and he frequently repeated it during the original “S.W.A.T.” That’s just two times “S.W.A.T.” has referenced its forefather program, and one specific reference has been right under fans’ noses for years. 

One of the clearest references “S.W.A.T.” makes to its originating series is in its theme song. The rising, blasting, horn-based song is a slightly jazzed-up version of the original “S.W.A.T.” series’ theme, with a slightly faster pace. The theme was composed by Barry De Vorzon, who also wrote “Nadia’s Theme” (which was repurposed into the theme song for the long-running soap opera “The Young and the Restless”) among other successful pop songs and popular themes.

While “S.W.A.T.” will now be permanently riding into the sunset, Paramount already has a sequel series greenlit and ready to roll. “S.W.A.T. Exiles” will feature Hondo training a whole new elite squad after being forcibly retired. Will it be as successful as its previous incarnations? After all, “S.W.A.T.” managed to survive cancelation once, during which Shemar Moore called CBS out (and he did it again when the show was canceled a second time).

As long as the show doesn’t turn into a soap opera, which Moore explicitly said he didn’t want to have happen, viewers might respond well to the new concept. And fans of the franchise will likely have a whole bunch of references to catch once it launches.