Shemar Moore was a mainstay on Criminal Minds for 11 seasons. He was a goofy, protective, and bad-ass FBI agent who stole our hearts week after week.
But after 11 years on the show, Moore decided to call it quits. Moore said he felt like it was time for a change, and his mother's words helped inspire him.
"My mother sends me these great cards," Moore said. "She gave me this one card and I'm looking at it right now and it says, "Leap and the net will appear." I wanted to see what the next chapter of my acting career is and also have a little balance so I could pursue other avenues of my life. I want to get married, I want to have kids, I want to travel."
One of those next chapters was a new show called S.W.A.T. in which Moore plays the lead role of S.W.A.T. lieutenant Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson. It's Moore's first role as a lead on a TV show, and he's been embracing it with open arms.
The premiere has been a long time coming, and fans were starting to get impatient. However, they finally got their wish as S.W.A.T. made its television debut this week. So how did fans react to seeing their favorite FBI agent in a new role?
"This is my dream job because I've always believed what I'm capable of," Moore, 47, said of S.W.A.T.. "I get to be a lead, which I'm proud of, but I'm also smart enough and humble enough to know that I can't do it by myself and that it's not all about me. So what I'm really proud of with S.W.A.T. is that I get to be a leader."
It seems that fans are proud of Moore, too. All their responses to the S.W.A.T. premiere were glowing.
Did you watch the show? What did you think?