CBS obviously has high hopes for the resumption of “The Equalizer”, presenting him with a high profile post-Super Bowl 2021 debut – the most coveted time on TV.
That will be worth the series, starring Queen Latifah, a large audience that will never approach. CBS knows this, of course, but is confident that “The Equalizer” will attract a loyal enough central audience in today’s saturated TV scene.
This is yet to be seen, but the Sunday night premiere gave us a predictable drama in that prime-time network format of the formula. There is nothing new here, at least not yet, but “The Equalizer” checks all the boxes, is well performed with an attractive cast and features a strong main character – which should be enough to guarantee a decent lifespan.
The series reinvents the 1980s CBS series starring Edward Woodward and the 2014 film Denzel Washington, with Latifah as Robyn McCall, who left the CIA after a stellar career capturing the bad guys. (There is an allusion to things that go wrong in Venezuela.) Divorced, she moved back to New York, where her 15-year-old daughter, Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes), lives with Robyn’s Aunt Vi (Lorraine Toussaint), who has already taken care of the teenager in the mother’s frequent (and long) absences. This is not fully explained in the opening – nor are several other contextual narrative points – but I hope we learn more about Robyn’s relationship with Delilah and Aunt Vi as the series progresses. (Robyn’s “cover story” is that she has worked for a nonprofit organization all these years.)
“The Equalizer” starts captivatingly with the shot of a lawyer in a dark alley, an innocent young woman accused of gangland-style murder. This takes Robyn, who is officially “retired”, and his team of helpers – bearded (of course), iconoclastic computer hacker Harry Keshegian (Adam Goldberg) and Melody Bayani (Liza Lapira) – to a disgusting billionaire businessman.
“You think you can buy and sell to the whole world!” Robyn barks at him, a predictable line that isn’t exactly Shakespeare, but, hey, she makes her point. She then uses her crazy skills to solve the case and she is a tough person, with an ingenious ability to get around any potential obstacles complemented by her blows, karate kicks, hitting people’s heads … the normal stuff. We expect nothing less, and Robyn / Latifah delivers everything (without breaking a sweat). It is a setback, but she is “The Equalizer”, damn it, announcing her intentions to continue fighting the good fight until the end of the episode.
Chris Noth is also present as William Bishop, Robyn’s former CIA colleague who now runs a private investigation firm in the city. We will see a lot more of it, no doubt, when “The Equalizer” arrives at the normal 8pm time on February 14th. CBS is really good at this type of gender offering by numbers – and in this case, that should give “The Equalizer” a chance to fight to make a mark.
