As a new year filled with promise begins, a reboot of The Equalizer is introduced with Queen Latifah starring as the first female Equalizer in the franchise. She is the guardian angel of the powerless. In this re-imagining of the classic series viewers will see the drama through a lens of possibilities.
Latifah is the perfect performer to offer a timely message in her justice crusader role as Robyn McCall. She works outside a broken system to find justice for people with nowhere else to turn.
The magnificent Latifah herself is a groundbreaking unique talent. The award-winning 50-year-old singer-actress-producer not only stars in the title role on The Equalizer, she is also the Executive Producer, along with Andrew W. Marlowe, Terri Edda Miller, and Debra Martin Chase, all co-creators of the new CBS series. The original starring the steely Edward Woodward as the Equalizer was created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim and aired from 1985 to 1989 on CBS.
Before the premiere of The Equalizer she tweeted: “I am so excited for you to see @TheEqualizerCBS this Sunday after the Super Bowl! I know you can’t wait to meet Robyn so I’m sharing this exclusive, sneak peek from the premiere of one of the fight scenes #TheEqualizer on @CBS and CBS All Access!” That clip showcased her awesome no-nonsense kick-butt character.
Latifah (whose real name is Dana Owens) recently talked about The Equalizer during CBS’ virtual interview session with the Television Critics Association (TCA), and she explained Robyn McCall’s backstory as a lethal former CIA operative, and her “superpowers.”
“I think I have a great many superpowers,” Latifah stated with pride, and told the TCA, “I think her (McCall) superpowers are the fact that she is extremely skillful at what she does, at what she’s learned. She’s a leader. She knows how to delegate. She’s very skillful at many things. But I think what’s most important to her right now is that she’s done with all of that (the CIA). She’s done working for the people who make the high decisions, the big decisions. She’s done with the greed. She’s done with the uber-powerful. She is all about taking what she has learned through the years, what she’s mastered deftly, and using it for everybody.”
She continued with a passionate declaration, “She’s using it for the other 99 percent of the population who don’t have access to people like her. That’s what drives her at this point. It’s the people she couldn’t save, that’s what makes her lose sleep. And I think we’re in a time when that’s what makes a lot of people lose sleep. The people you can’t save, the people that don’t have — can’t get a break, the people that have it rough, the people that are in line for food. That’s who she wants to fight for. She doesn’t want to Equalize for billionaires anymore. She doesn’t want to Equalize for countries who play chess with people. You know, she wants to Equalize for people.”
No one on the production at the beginning of last year could have fathom “that the world would turn into what it turned into over the last year,” Latifah explained. “But now the timing is perfect for this show, for us to be able to tell these stories.”
Tune in Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, the face of justice for a new generation, in The Equalizer. The series is a weekly high-octane thrill ride airing Sundays at 8 PM, ET/PT, on CBS.
The series premiere of the CBS Original drama THE EQUALIZER, starring Academy Award nominee and multi-hyphenate Queen Latifah, will be broadcast immediately following SUPER BOWL LV on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/7:00-8:00 PM, PT; time is approximate after post-game coverage) on the CBS Television Network. THE EQUALIZER will move to its regular Sunday (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) time period on Feb. 14, 2021.
Pictured: Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall
Photo: Barbara Nitke/CBS ©2020 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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