Depending on your age, when you think of “The Equalizer,” you either imagine a white-haired Edward Woodward on your TV screen each week or Denzel Washington kicking ass in two big-budget action films from director Antoine Fuqua. But for a new generation, it appears that “The Equalizer” is neither an aging white man or an ass-kicking Oscar-winner. Instead, CBS is hoping that a new reboot of the crime series will succeed with Queen Latifah in the lead.
That’s right, Queen Latifah, the rapper-turned-actress-turned-talk-show-host-turned-actress is now set to take over the role previously portrayed by Washington in a new CBS drama series coming to TV screens later this year, according to Variety. Much like the film and TV series before it, the new ‘Equalizer’ stars Latifah as a mysterious woman that has a certain set of skills that allow her to help people with nowhere else to turn.
Latifah has starred in a number of film and TV projects over the years, but never really dabbled much in action. The closest projects she’s had to her new CBS series might be the films “The Bone Collector” and “Set It Off.” But most people probably know her from comedies like “Taxi” and “Girls Trip.”
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Joining Latifah in the cast of the new series are Chris Noth, Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles, Liza Lapira, and Laya DeLeon Hayes. “The Equalizer” was already into production on its pilot episode before filming was shut down due to COVID-19. But apparently CBS saw enough and decided to order a season of the new series.
Now, if you’re an eternal optimist that sees “The Equalizer” as a perfect vehicle for Queen Latifah to transform into a captivating, gritty drama series, then you also have to remember that we’re talking about CBS. This is the network that survives on it’s various “NCIS” series and other shows like “Hawaii Five-O,” “Blue Bloods,” and “S.W.A.T.” That is to say, the demographic that watches these, uh, “dramas” (using quotations because these thrillers normally include quippy banter and very little actual grit) is very different than the audience that enjoys Antoine Fuqua films.
But hey, good for Queen Latifah. I look forward to her making me eat my words when “The Equalizer” succeeds and becomes a major hit for CBS later this year.
