Queen Latifah's hit series The Equalizer has been renewed for a second season, as CBS audiences just can't seem to get enough of the Queen in action -- literally. It seems the tribe has spoken, and the people are saying "Long live the Queen!"
After four episodes, The Equalizer is television’s #1 scripted series in viewers, adults 25-54 and adults 18-49, averaging 14.6 million viewers, according to CBS. I had no idea this show had become such a hit, and it was happening right under my nose! Poor Clarice...
Apparently, The Equalizer premiere on Super Bowl Sunday was the most-watched debut of the 2020-2021 season, delivering 23.8 million viewers, thereby scoring the best viewer and demo numbers for any entertainment program since last year's Oscars telecast on Feb. 9, 2020. Not only that, but the premiere also retained 40 percent of the Super Bowl post-game show’s total audience -- the best post-game retention for any scripted show since the half-hour New Girl episode in 2014 (40%) and the best hour-long scripted retention rate since Glee in 2011 (41%).
That's pretty wild stuff. I guess not all new shows are created -- wait for it -- equal.
“The Equalizer has proven more than equal to the task of engaging viewers and racking up wins on Sunday night,” CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl said in a pun-packed statement. “We’re extremely proud to see this outstanding broadcast drama, led by Queen Latifah, punch through the competitive landscape and return for a second season.”
The high-octane series casts its Oscar-nominated star as Robyn McCall, a mysterious woman who uses her extensive skills as a former CIA operative to help those with nowhere else to turn, all while she pursues her own personal redemption. McCall presents to most as an average single mom who is quietly raising her teenage daughter, but to a trusted few, she is The Equalizer -- an anonymous guardian angel and defender of the downtrodden.
Chris Noth (Sex and the City) co-stars alongside Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira and Laya DeLeon Hayes. Meanwhile, Queen Latifah (aka Dana Owens) executive produces alongside Andrew Marlowe, Terri Miller, John Davis, John Fox, Debra Martin Chase and Shakim Compere.
The late Richard Lindheim, who co-created the original Equalizer TV series that ran on CBS for four seasons, is also credited as an executive producer on the show, which joins the previously announced renewals of The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola on CBS. I've never seen an episode of either show, so I have no idea if Abishola hearts Bob back, but what I do know is that it's the Queen's time to reign, all due respect to former CBS kings Ray Romano, Kevin James, Charlie Sheen and William Petersen. How's that for equal?