Deadline is reporting CBS has given a pilot production commitment to The Equalizer, a reimagining of the classic series with Queen Latifah set to star and executive produce. The project hails from Take Two creators Andrew Marlowe & Terri Miller, Davis Entertainment, Flavor Unit, Martin Chase Productions, Universal Television and CBS TV Studios.
Written by Marlowe and Miller, who will serve as showrunners, The Equalizer stars Queen Latifah as an enigmatic figure who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn. This is a new take on the character played by Edward Woodward on the original series and by Denzel Washington in the movie franchise.
Marlowe and Miller executive produce alongside John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment; Debra Martin Chase of Martin Chase Productions; Richard Lindheim, co-creator of the original Equalizer TV series; and Queen Latifah (real name Dana OWens) and Shakim Compere of Flavor Unit.
This marks Equalizer’s return to CBS. The original TV series, which Lindheim co-created with Michael Sloan, aired on the network for four seasons from 1985 to 1989. It starred Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent with a mysterious past, who uses the skills from his former career to exact justice on behalf of innocent people who are trapped in dangerous circumstances.
The series was adapted as a feature in 2014. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Washington as Robert McCall, was a hit and spawned a sequel.
Universal Television produced the original Equalizer series, while Sony did the features. Mounting an Equalizer reboot had been a priority for Universal TV for the past four years. There had been multiple attempts though dealmaking had proven difficult in the past.
This time, Uni TV employed some of its top producers, Davis Entertainment and Chase, to help bring the iconic title back to TV.
Marlowe was the creator, executive producer and showrunner of ABC’s long-running crime drama Castle, on which Miller was executive producer. Most recently, the pair created and ran ABC’s summer show Take Two.
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