The Equalizer is coming back to television with a new reworked and fresh-looking series for CBS.
Many fans know The Equalizer based on the movies starring Denzel Washington that came out in 2014 and 2018 and were directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day).
However, before that, it was a television series in the ’80s starring Edward Woodward as a man with a mysterious past who uses his skills as a past intelligence agent to help innocent people in need.
Now, the franchise is coming back to television with a very different look. In this new series, Queen Latifah will take on the role of The Equalizer.
Here is everything we know so far about The Equalizer Season 1.
This article provides everything that is known about The Equalizer Season 1 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s dig down into what is known so far.
What is Season 1 of The Equalizer about?
The original Equalizer TV show (1985-89) was about a former intelligence agent who now helps innocent people. The Denzel Washington movies were about a former US Marine turned Defense Intelligence Agency officer who returned to action to help innocent people.
The new version of The Equalizer will star Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, a divorced and enigmatic single mother to a teenager. She has a mysterious background that allows her to act as a guardian angel to help those who can’t defend themselves.
She also has a mysterious redemption story she is pursuing.
The series was from the minds of Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller, who created Take Two. In November 2019, the duo received a pilot commitment, and it seems that they won over CBS.
In May, CBS picked up The Equalizer for series, along with The Silence of the Lambs prequel Clarice and the Chuck Lorre sitcom B Positive.
Release date latest: When does The Equalizer Season 1 come out?
The Equalizer Season 1 will premiere on Sunday night, February 14 at 8/7c on CBS.
There has been no work on when CBS plans to release its fall schedule. However, most people expect the shows to start rolling out in November.
The Equalizer was one of the shows that had to shut down production in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With that said, the daily schedules have been set. Sunday nights on CBS look huge, and The Equalizer will lead into two of the network’s top shows.
The Sunday night CBS schedule starts with 60 Minutes at 7/6c, and then the primetime lineup starts with The Equalizer at 8/7c, followed by NCIS: Los Angeles at 9/8c and NCIS: New Orleans at 10/9c.
“Our Monday night, our Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Friday night, Sunday night are only down single digits (in total viewers this season), which in this environment is pretty good,” CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl said about the 2020-21 schedule.
Hopefully, for CBS, The Equalizer will help pull the Sunday night numbers up.
The Equalizer Season 1 cast updates
The first person to sign on to The Equalizer Season 1 on CBS was the lead star, Queen Latifah. She will star as Robyn McCall, the hero that acts as a guardian angel to help those who can’t defend themselves.
In February, Liza Lapira joined the pilot of The Equalizer as Melody Chu. An edgy bar owner with a wry sense of humor and sunny disposition, Melody is a former colleague of Robyn’s (Queen Latifah) with whom she’s still great friends. She was also a highly decorated Air Force sniper in a previous life.
Lorraine Toussaint (The Village) joined later in February as Frieda “Aunt Fry” Lascombe, Robyn’s aunt and her rock who’s been living with Robyn and her daughter, Delilah, since Robyn’s divorce. She has undeniable wisdom and is a truth-teller who tends to be a wary optimist.
Tony Kittles joined the show in March, as Detective Marcus Dante, a highly intelligent, soft-spoken yet powerful and shrewd NYPD detective, with a cultivated veneer.
In May, the second major name joined The Equalizer with Chris Noth (Law & Order). By this time, CBS ordered The Equalizer straight to series. Noth plays William Bishop, a quirky ex-CIA director who was Robyn’s first handler and has a father-daughter relationship with her.
In November, Adam Goldberg joined the cast as a co-lead. He will star as Harry Keshegian, a non-stereotypical tech dude. Gruffly endearing, lovably annoying, eccentric, and a collector of facts and artifacts, he’s paranoid — but for a reason.
The Equalizer Season 1 spoilers
There has been no trailer for The Equalizer with Queen Latifah on CBS yet, but there was a video released of the actress and show’s creators were talking about the new series and her role on the show.
In the small 30 second video, Terri Miller mentioned how great it was to get Queen Latifah, calling her a “bada**’ and funny, someone that people could trust. Andrew Marlowe said that having a female lead in the series instead of a male made it more “relevant.”
“This is one of the only jobs I’ve ever taken in my life where someone asked me the question one time, and I said yes immediately,” Queen Latifah said.
The Equalizer Season 1 premieres on Sunday, February 7, 2021, at 10/9c on CBS.
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