The rollout for an upcoming CBS series is in full force. According to Deadline, a new teaser for action drama, The Equalizer, was released from the show’s Twitter account on Saturday. Starring Queen Latifah (Star, Bessie) in the third iteration of the character, the show is set to premiere after the Super Bowl on February 7. Check out the clip below:
According to Deadline, the series is a reboot of the 1980s show starring British actor, Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man, Hot Fuzz). Created by Michael Sloan (Earthquake in New York, Mystery Woman) and Richard Lindheim (B.J. and the Bear, The Equalizer 2), the show followed Woodward as Robert McCall, a former government operative who became a hero-for-hire. McCall would solicit his specific skills to help those not strong enough to fight for themselves. The show ran on CBS for four seasons from 1985-1989.
In this version, Latifah is Robyn McCall according to Deadline. In the clip, she describes her new occupations as being “complicated” to her daughter and avoids questions from former colleague William Bishop, a CIA agent played by Chris Noth (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Sex and the City). The clip also shows off some explosive action sequences with Latifah quipping “I’m the one you call when you can’t call 911.”
The series also stars Lorraine Toussaint (Any Day Now, Rosewood), Tory Kittles (Colony, True Detective), Adam Goldberg (A Beautiful Mind, Dazed and Confused), Liza Lapira (21, Crazy, Stupid, Love), and Laya DeLeon Hayes (Doc McStuffins, Liv and Maddie) via Deadline.
According to Deadline, the show is being produced through Universal Television in association with CBS Studios. Executive producers include Latifah, whose government name is Dana Owens, Terri Miller (Castle, Take Two), John Davis (I, Robot, Magnum P.I.), and Andrew Marlowe.
Lindheim joins as an executive producer along with John Fox (Jungle Cruise, The Blacklist), Debra Martin Chase (Courage Under Fire, The Princess Diaries), Shakim Compere (Just Wright, Scream: The TV Series), and series director, Liz Friedlander (Conviction, Jessica Jones) via Deadline. Friedlander will only produce the pilot. In addition to this remake, The Equalizer was adapted to film in 2014 with Denzel Washington (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fallen) in the role of McCall. The movie spawned a sequel which was released in 2018.