The WORST episodes of S.W.A.T. (2017)

Every episode of S.W.A.T. (2017) ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of S.W.A.T. (2017)!

Los Angeles S.W.A.T. Sergeant Daniel ‘Hondo’ Harrelson is assigned to lead a highly-skilled unit in the community where he grew up. Torn between loyalty to the streets where the cops are sometimes the enemy, and allegiance to his brothers in blue, he strategically straddles these two worlds. Hondo encourages his team to rely on communication and respect over force and aggression, but when a crisis erupts, these unflinching men and women are prepared to put their tactical training to the test.

Last Updated: 11/13/2024Network: CBSStatus: Continuing
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3 Seventeen Year Olds (1)
star
7.45
717 votes

#1 - 3 Seventeen Year Olds (1)

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/11/2020

Hondo, his father Daniel Sr. and his teen charge, Darryl confront the history of racial tension in Los Angeles between law enforcement and the Black community, through flashbacks to the city in 1992 following the Rodney King verdict. The team pursues El Diablo’s scattered drug cartel hiding in the city and a Jihadist group detonating bombs in coordinated attacks

All That Glitters
star
7.53
417 votes

#2 - All That Glitters

Season 6 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/5/2023

Following a string of violent home robberies, the team rushes to stop a crew targeting elderly victims. Also, Hondo’s longtime friend and former Marine squad leader Danny Wright turns to Hondo for help when his daughter goes missing.

Directors: Jay Harrington
Writer: Ryan Keleher
Fences
star
7.54
1451 votes

#3 - Fences

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/1/2018

Hondo and Jessica’s secret relationship comes to a crossroads when Michael Plank, the president of the police commission, discovers their affair. Also, when Hondo and the team assist with the federal investigation to bring in an undocumented fugitive, they find themselves at the center of a citywide immigration debate.

Directors: Alex Graves
Writer: Sam Humphrey
Sins of the Fathers
star
7.55
535 votes

#4 - Sins of the Fathers

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/7/2021

The team works together to hunt down a deadly band of mercenaries hired by a wealthy CEO trying to leave the country before he's arrested for running a massive Ponzi scheme. Hondo is forced to confront his changing relationship with Darryl.

Directors: Guy Ferland
Genesis
star
7.56
414 votes

#5 - Genesis

Season 6 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/7/2023

When an armored truck heist ends in bloodshed, the team races to track down priceless jewels before more lives are lost. Also, Hondo’s mother, Charice, visits.

Directors: Liz Graham
Family
star
7.57
505 votes

#6 - Family

Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/24/2022

When Hicks witnesses the assassination of his longtime friend, a prominent judge, the team races to find the shooter and determine why he was targeted. Also, Luca struggles with how to help his brother, Terry, after he’s arrested.

Directors: Alrick Riley
Writer: Mia Fichman
Vanished
star
7.57
227 votes

#7 - Vanished

Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/18/2024

SWAT tackles a mission with personal ties for Hondo when they race to find a group of missing students and their bus driver, Hondo’s former high school football coach. Also, Hicks has reservations regarding Hondo’s new 20-Squad team addition, Devin Gamble, a cop with a family background deeply entrenched in crime.

Directors: Billy Gierhart
SNAFU
star
7.57
336 votes

#8 - SNAFU

Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/26/2024

As 20-Squad scrambles to track down a cold-blooded sniper terrorizing Los Angeles, Hondo discovers a link to his own South L.A. neighborhood that brings a personal twist to the hunt for the deadly shooter. Meanwhile, Tan finds himself questioning his leadership abilities while Powell and Alfaro compete in a classic game of SWAT tag.

Directors: Alex Russell
Local Heroes
star
7.58
527 votes

#9 - Local Heroes

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/5/2021

The team tries to track down a media-savvy crew of bank robbers who consider themselves a band of modern-day Robin Hoods, funneling stolen cash back into their struggling neighborhood, before the mission turns deadly. Also, Hondo and Deacon clash over how to deal with a group of cops' racist views.

Directors: Jann Turner
Forget Shorty
star
7.58
400 votes

#10 - Forget Shorty

Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/12/2023

SWAT teams up with the DEA, led by Mack Boyle, to conduct a massive gang sweep, only to discover that a vicious cartel is planting roots in the city and endangering numerous lives. Also, Hicks marks an important anniversary.

Directors: Paul F. Bernard
Buried
star
7.58
574 votes

#11 - Buried

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/3/2021

As the SWAT team helps the LAPD search for the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance, they’re joined in the field by a new team member. The personal strain between Chris and Street comes to a head as both await Hicks’ decision on who the winner is of a prestigious leadership competition.

Directors: Paul Bernard
Fracture
star
7.58
633 votes

#12 - Fracture

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/9/2020

Hondo is conflicted when asked to be the face of a campaign for the LAPD to reach out to the black community. The team searches for a lone bomber which triggers childhood flashbacks for Tan.

Patrol
star
7.58
1309 votes

#13 - Patrol

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/19/2018

Hondo confronts his long-held resentment towards his ailing father, Daniel Harrelson, Sr., when he and his sister, Briana, try to convince their dad he’s no longer well enough to live alone. Also, when the SWAT team works as patrol officers for a day, Chris is partnered with Mumford, who intends to make her a surprising offer.

Directors: Norberto Barba
Writer: A.C. Allen
Spare Parts
star
7.59
349 votes

#14 - Spare Parts

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/8/2024

SWAT hunts down a Chilean arms dealer after he kidnaps a woman and her daughter from a party in L.A. with unexpected intentions. Crossing paths with his brother, Tan is forced to come clean to his family about his divorce from Bonnie, while Hondo discovers that Hicks has received a job offer that could lure him away from SWAT.

Directors: Cherie Gierhart
Writer: Ryan Keleher
Allegiance
star
7.59
327 votes

#15 - Allegiance

Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 5/10/2024

When a crew of violent eco-terrorists abducts the teenage son of an energy company executive, SWAT must untangle the kidnappers’ twisted motives before carrying out a high-stakes rescue mission. Meanwhile, Hondo’s involvement in a shooting draws outrage from the very community he’s dedicated his career to protecting. And, as Deacon is called on to help with the escalating crisis, he’s forced to confront nagging doubts about his retirement.

Directors: Jay Harrington
Escape
star
7.59
351 votes

#16 - Escape

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/15/2024

After a prison transport van overturns, Hondo and the team hunt down three female fugitives, including a serial killer on the verge of a rampage. Also, with Annie’s return to work, Deacon struggles to maintain a work life balance, and Luca does his best to teach Kelly to drive.

Writer: John Amato
Cry Foul
star
7.60
522 votes

#17 - Cry Foul

Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/17/2022

When a series of deadly explosions hits oil derricks across Los Angeles, SWAT teams up to hunt down an activist-turned-terrorist. Also, Deacon and his wife, Annie, work to free a reformed drug dealer who they believe was sent away for a murder he didn’t commit.

Directors: Oz Scott
Writer: Amelia Sims
Los Huesos
star
7.60
1020 votes

#18 - Los Huesos

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/10/2019

Jessica and Chris go undercover in Mexico, alone and without back-up, to save a Mexican federal agent kidnapped by a drug-dealing gang that Jessica helped bring to justice years before. Also, Hondo’s mother, Charice, worries he’s under emotional strain when he engages in a series of small home renovation projects in her home.

Directors: Alex Kalymnios
Source
star
7.60
1246 votes

#19 - Source

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/26/2018

Jim Street debates whether or not his mother, Karen, should live with him upon her prison release after Hondo and Chris warn him against it. Also, Hondo and the team are assigned to protect Irina Zemanova, a high-profile Russian journalist visiting Los Angeles, from being assassinated.

Memento Mori
star
7.60
648 votes

#20 - Memento Mori

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/25/2020

The SWAT team searches for a rogue member of an extremist group planning to attack the memorial service of a famous musician who was outspoken about police brutality. Also, tension mounts between Hondo and Leroy, Darryl's father, when Leroy is released from prison early.

Quandary
star
7.60
524 votes

#21 - Quandary

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/8/2022

When SWAT discovers an illegal weapons dealer has sold stock to someone targeting a high-level politician, the team rushes to stop a deadly ambush.

Imposters
star
7.60
1809 votes

#22 - Imposters

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/30/2017

When a series of home invasions are committed by SWAT imposters in an upscale neighborhood, Hondo and the team suspect the burglarized families are all hiding something. Also, when Deacon and Luca are assigned to protect a visiting professional hockey player who is receiving death threats, his penchant for trouble becomes a complication.

Directors: Guy Ferland
Writer: VJ Boyd
The Sepulveda Protocol
star
7.60
151 votes

#23 - The Sepulveda Protocol

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/8/2024

A blackout throws the city into chaos, forcing 20-Squad onto the streets for an emergency patrol day, which quickly escalates when Hondo and team uncover a terror threat.

Directors: Cherie Gierhart
Writer: Ryan Keleher
Pariah
star
7.60
469 votes

#24 - Pariah

Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/6/2023

When faced with a series of random shootings, one SWAT member’s family connections could be the key to stopping the next attack. Also, Hondo prepares to meet Rochelle’s parents for the first time, and Tan helps Luca navigate a sensitive situation.

Directors: Cherie Gierhart
Contamination
star
7.61
1469 votes

#25 - Contamination

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/1/2018

Hondo and the SWAT team join forces with the FBI on a manhunt to find members of a militia group planning a domestic terror attack by weaponizing cyanide. Also, as Jessica’s new police initiatives with Michael Plank, president of the police commission, move forward, she braces herself for the negative impact the plans could have on her relationships within the department.

Directors: Elodie Keene