Queen Latifah kicks criminal butt in this first teaser for CBS' The Equalizer reboot
Aux Features Coming Distractions
Cops are done and TV shows about cops are done (neither thing is true, but that’s the premise we’re rolling with), opening the door for the return of TV shows about people who do the things the crooked and ineffective cops can’t do. Shows like The Equalizer, which originally aired in the ‘80s and starred Edward Woodward as a vigilante who… equalizes, then came back as a pair of movies with Denzel Washington, and is now coming back as a TV show again with Queen Latifah stepping into the role of Robyn McCall, a “single mother with a mysterious background.” Ooh, enigmatic! (The name of the guy in the other two Equalizer versions was Robert McCall, so this is probably an unrelated universe… if you care.)
That comes from Variety, which also explains that this series is about Latifah using skills she developed through some kind of past with the CIA to “protect and defend those who cannot do so for themselves” while also “seeking her own redemption.” Chris Noth is also there as another former CIA guy, though he uses his special skills to warn Queen Latifah that she shouldn’t be killing people. The show premieres on February 7 after the Super Bowl, and you can see the new teaser for it below.
23 Comments
I like the casting of Chris Noth to that particular role as he does bring that energy and presence to it. Espeically against Latifah as there is an excellent contrast there.
My suggestion to the writers? Make her catchphrase be “Just dance for me.”And have her say it to criminals right before she shoots them.
Does she ever get to say, “If you do not leave my client alone…I will hunt you down, I will find you — and I will kill you”?That would be epic.
Who would win in a fight between Equalizer and Nobody?
Nobody.
“Queen Antifa,” is that something?
Exactly the kind of choppy cut up action I would expect from a tv budget and an action show featuring Queen Latifah. But at least the show will be utilizing Latifah’s considerable charm, it won’t be doing something stupid like casting her in a no nonsense role where she’s just a no nonsense one-note character all the time…right?
I don’t buy it. She runs like a welshman
If they don’t squeeze Monie Love or De La Soul somewhere on this show for a cameo, I will be highly upset. And yes its corny and stupid but so what?
Sorry, no. Three words from Edward Woodward and she’d be quaking in her boots.
It’s odd that they are already rebooting The Equalizer. The Equalizer 2 with Denzel Washington was released only two and half years ago. It kind of reminds me of Charlie’s Angels. Full Throttle came out in 2003, the reboot tv show came out in 2011 and the Kristen Stewart film came out in 2019 so there was eight years between reboots. I just hope that people don’t compare the two that much and this version can stand on its own.
I still don’t get the point of the Denzel Washington films licencing the property and then not using the awesome theme music from the TV show.I think they’re rebooting the original TV show as opposed to the film series if that makes sense.I also think that technically, the Kristen Stewart film might have been in the same universe as the Barrymore/Diaz/Liu films as well. As in the makers might have said it was even it made no practical difference on screen.
Time is a flat circle.
I really enjoy the original series, but for some reason never feel like it was a big enough deal to warrant so many attempts at re-purposing it. But I only learned about it somewhere in the ‘90s when I randomly started watching reruns on A&E back when I had a reason to remember A&E even existed.
The premise is both versatile and thin enough that almost any piece of narrative media for the last thirty years about a PI, bounty hunter, or sufficiently loose cannon cop could have been an Equalizer reboot with some minor tweaking. I suspect it’s just that Hollywood prefers names it recognizes over taking a chance on something new.
That’s basically it. I mean, The Equalizer was in the vein of all those other 80s shows with badasses fighting on behalf of the little guy (Knight Rider, The A-Team, MacGyver, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, etc). The biggest difference being that it has even less of a hook than most of the others. “Former CIA whatsit helps the helpless.” You can make a lot of different shows from that premise.
Yes, only The Equalizer was British!I remember the most interesting feature of the series of was Woodward’s off-brand Aging James Bond wearing his Catholic Guilt like a hair shirt as he took out assorted baddies and assholes. That’s something Denzel’s Robert McCall never really gets at — he’s just a Middle-Aged Badass of Color Who Has Some Mates in The Intelligence Community Who Owe Him a Few Favors.
Denzel’s McCall is closer to Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills than Edward Woodward’s McCall.
So less cop shows but more shows about ex CIA people being good guys. Yessir that’s progressive indeed. Whoo.
She should team up with The Watcher. Then we could have Queen Latifah and Sir Mix-a-Lot in one show.And at the moment they bring down the bad guy, he could say “You’ve been watched.” And then she’d say “You just got equalized.”An appearance by the Fresh Prince would not be out of line.
The only good thing to come out of The Equalizer Universe (god, EVERYTHING has a “universe” now) is Stewart Copeland’s theme music for the original show.
I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a comedy or drama.
Dear lord that running………..lmao
I loved the Ed Woodward version. He used his brains and his contacts to generally let the bad guys trap themselves. Of course, he did have some very deadly skills. It was always played like Bond in retirement, although Bond would never retire to NYC.
Wasn’t The Equalizer already an A-Team reboot?