''The Equalizer'' is an American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series that premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on February 7, 2021. It is the second reboot in the franchise, following the 2014 film and its

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and 2023 sequels, and is a reboot of the 1980s series with the same name. The series is co-created by

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

s Richard Lindheim, with Michael Sloan, and

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

, who also stars as the title character. John Davis, John Fox,

Debra Martin Chase Debra Martin Chase (born October 11, 1956) is an American motion picture and television producer. Her company, Martin Chase Productions, is affiliated with Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Television Group. It was affiliated with ...

, Andrew Marlowe, and Terri Miller also serve as executive producers. Lindheim died from heart failure on January 18, 2021, while working on the series; the series premiere is dedicated to his memory. In March 2021, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on October 10, 2021. In May 2022, the series was renewed for its third and fourth seasons. The third season premiered on October 2, 2022.

Premise

"The series centers around Robyn McCall, an enigmatic woman in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and single mother to teenage daughter Delilah, with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn, acting as a guardian angel and a defender for those who cannot defend themselves while pursuing her own redemption."

Cast

Main

as Robyn McCall, "the Equalizer", a divorced single mother and former CIA operative who acts as a street vigilante for justice *

Tory Kittles Tory Kittles is an American actor. He has appeared in the films ''Malibu's Most Wanted'' (2003), ''Get Rich or Die Tryin (2005), ''Next'' (2007), ''Miracle at St. Anna'' (2008), and ''Dragged Across Concrete'' (2018). He is known mostly for hi ...

as Marcus Dante, a divorced father of two sons and an intelligent and shrewd NYPD detective on Robyn's trail because he is reluctant to have Robyn help him but finds common ground in getting justice. In season 2, they become allies and friends. *

Adam Goldberg Adam Charles Goldberg (born October 25, 1970) is an American character actor, filmmaker, musician, and photographer. Known for his supporting roles in film and television, Goldberg has appeared in films such as '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Saving ...

as Harry Keshegian, Melody's husband and a master hacker who faked his death with Robyn's help *

Liza Lapira Liza Lapira (born December 3, 1981) is an American actress. She played Kianna in the 2008 film '' 21'', Special Agent Michelle Lee in the CBS police procedural series '' NCIS'' and Ivy, Topher Brink's assistant in ''Dollhouse''. Lapira has also c ...

as Melody "Mel" Bayani, a former U.S. Air Force sniper turned owner of a bar which acts as a secret base of operations and an old friend of Robyn's from her service days * Laya DeLeon Hayes as Delilah, Robyn's 15-year-old daughter, who is rebellious and feels neglected by Robyn, despite their attempts to bond with each other *

Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...

as Viola "Aunt Vi" Marsette, Robyn's wise

paternal A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

aunt, who lives with Robyn and Delilah, having moved from Milwaukee to help them out, and is a painter *

Chris Noth Christopher David Noth ( ; born November 13, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Mike Logan on ''Law & Order'' (1990–95), Big on ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), and Peter Florrick on ''The ...

as William Bishop (seasons 1–2), a quirky ex–CIA director and old friend of Robyn's who now runs his own private security company. He acts as liaison between Robyn and the CIA. In season 2, he is killed in a plane crash by Robyn's nemesis, Mason Quinn.

Recurring

* Erica Camarano as Detective Paley (season 1; guest season 2), who works with Dante. She is shot and killed in the second-season premiere while responding to a bank robbery along with Dante. *

Jennifer Ferrin Jennifer Ferrin (born February 25, 1979) is an American actress. Early life and education Ferrin was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She attended Brookwood High where she was the lead in many high school plays and was a member of the choir. Up ...

as Avery Grafton, a district attorney who has made Robyn's arrest and prosecution a priority for her office, seeing her as an embarrassment for the justice system and a threat to her re-election prospects. In the second season, after Robyn saves Grafton from an assassination attempt by a corrupt A.D.A. and a known career criminal trying to stop a probe into her office that would have exposed them both, and points out the blindspots that both she and her office have developed in their pursuit of justice, she decides to call off the manhunt, as long as Robyn does not cross the line too far. *

Frank Pando Frank Pando is an American actor. Pando's screen acting career debuted in 1999 in the TV series ''The Sopranos'' as Agent Frank Grasso. He has since acted in several television shows, movies, and plays, including roles as policemen in '' The Vi ...

as Captain Torres, Dante's commanding officer *

Dominic Fumusa Dominic Fumusa (; born September 13, 1969) is an American stage and screen actor known for starring in the Showtime comedy-drama series ''Nurse Jackie''. Early life Fumusa was born and raised in Dane County, Wisconsin to a large family as one ...

as Detective Ken Mallory (season 2), a detective recruited by D.A. Grafton to identify and arrest Robyn *

Brett Dalton Brett Patrick Dalton (born January 7, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Grant Ward and Hive in ABC's series ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', as well as Michael Munroe in the 2015 video game ''Until Dawn''. Early life Dalton gr ...

as Carter Griffin (season 2–present)

Special guest stars

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

as Jessie "The Worm" Cook (season 2), a former colleague of Robyn's who is a professional thief *

Donal Logue Donal Francis Logue (born February 27, 1966) is a Canadian actor. He starred in the film ''The Tao of Steve'' and has had roles in the TV series ''Sons of Anarchy'', ''Vikings'', ''Grounded for Life'', ''Copper'', ''Terriers'', and, as Detective ...

as Colton Fisk (season 3)

Notable guest stars

Gloria Reuben Gloria Elizabeth Reuben is a Canadian-American actress, producer, and singer. She is well-known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the medical drama ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1995–1999, 2008), for which she was twice nominated for an Emmy Award, a ...

as Trish (season 3) *

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

as Misty (season 3)

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2021–22)

Season 3 (2022)

Production

Development

In November 2019, CBS announced that a reboot was in development with

in the lead role as Robyn McCall. Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller would serve as showrunners with Latifah herself as an executive producer. On January 27, 2020, CBS issued a pilot order for the new version. Production companies involved with the pilot include Flavor Unit,

Davis Entertainment Davis Entertainment (also known as Davis Entertainment Company) is an American film and television production company, founded by John Davis in 1984. Davis's three divisions–feature film, independent film, and television–develop and produc ...

, Martin Chase Productions and

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

and Universal Television. On May 8, 2020, it was announced that the production had been given a series order. On March 9, 2021, CBS renewed the series for a second season. On May 1, 2022, Terri Edda Miller and Andrew W. Marlowe stepped down as showrunners and are being replaced by Joseph C. Wilson and Adam Glass. On May 5, 2022, CBS renewed the series for its third and fourth seasons.

Casting

In February 2020, it was announced that

and

had been cast in the pilot's lead roles. On March 3, 2020, it was announced that

joined the cast in a starring role. On May 8, 2020, it was announced that

joined a starring role along with Latifah. On December 21, 2021, CBS and Universal Television announced Noth was terminated from the series after sexual assault allegations were made against him. His final appearance was in the middle of the second season. On January 3, 2022, it was reported that Noth had made his last appearance in "Separated" due to allegations that he assaulted women in December 2021. On September 20, 2022, it was announced that

and

joined the cast in undisclosed capacities for the third season.

Filming

The pilot was slated to film in New York City in March 2020. Production was delayed as a direct result of the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

before filming could begin. On February 9, 2021, it was reported that production had been temporarily suspended due to a positive COVID-19 test. Filming for the series has taken place in several locations in northern New Jersey, including Paterson, Newark, and Jersey City. Exterior shots of a Jersey City home are used for Robyn McCall's residence.

Broadcast

''The Equalizer'' premiered on February 7, 2021

after After may refer to: Literature * ''After'' (Elgar), an 1895 poem by Philip Bourke Marston set to music by Edward Elgar * ''After'' (Prose novel), a 2003 novel by Francine Prose * ''After'' (book), a 2005 book by Canadian writer Francis Chalifour ...

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

. The second season premiered on October 10, 2021. The third season premiered on October 2, 2022. The series had its series premiere in Germany on Sky One on July 12, 2021, in the UK on

Sky Witness Sky Witness is a British pay television tv channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts drama shows from the United States, aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version ...

on August 3, 2021, and in Italy on Sky Investigation (local version of

) on October 3, 2021.

Marketing

On May 19, 2020, a 30-second teaser featuring Queen Latifah explaining her involvement in the series was released by CBS. On January 9, 2021, CBS released the first official teaser for the series.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the series has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 30 critics, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Queen Latifah returns to the small screen in full command of her craft—if only ''The Equalizer'' overly-engineered early episodes were on her level." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, it has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Ratings

Overall

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Future

In January 2021, when asked about the show's relationship to the film series starring

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

, Marlowe stated that while they are focusing on establishing the television series to stand on its own, they are leaving the opportunity open for a crossover between the two in the future.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Equalizer (2021 TV series), The 2021 American television series debuts 2020s American crime drama television series 2020s American mystery television series American action adventure television series American detective television series American spy thriller television series CBS original programming English-language television shows The Equalizer (franchise) Espionage television series Fictional secret agents and spies Fictional vigilantes Super Bowl lead-out shows Television productions postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Television series about families Television series by CBS Studios Television series by Universal Television Television series reboots Television shows filmed in New Jersey Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in New York City Vigilante television series Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department