‘The Equalizer’ Canceled at CBS After Five Seasons

The Queen Latifah-led CBS series The Equalizer has been cancelled by the network.

via: THR

The decision comes just two days before the show’s fifth season finale on May 4. That episode will now serve as a series finale. Ratings for The Equalizer fell off a good amount this season as it moved to a later hour on Sunday nights; it averages a little under 6 million viewers with a week of Nielsen-measured delayed viewing (not including streaming), compared to 7.89 million last season.

With the cancellation, CBS has no more scripted series from the 2024-25 season in limbo. The Equalizer joins fellow veteran dramas FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted and first-year comedy Poppa’s House in being canceled; the long-running Blue Bloods ended in December.

Based on the 1985-89 series of the same name (which was also adapted into a trio of feature films starring Denzel Washington), The Equalizer stars Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, a former CIA operative turned freelance problem solver. Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon Hayes and Lorraine Toussaint also star.

Following the news, Latifah took to social media to share her heartfelt reaction with fans.

Sharing a single photo of herself in character as McCall, she wrote to her eight million Instagram followers: 'Stepping into a kick-a** role like Robyn was everything I hoped it would be.'

She made reference to her business partner Shakim Compere and their entertainment company, adding, 'Shakim and I at Flavor Unit are always excited to bring these kinds of roles and projects to life—and then we just hope you love them as much as we do.'

The New Jersey-bred rap artist continued, 'The Equalizer blew past every dream we had for it, and having the opportunity to do this for five seasons honestly feels surreal.'

'Thank you to our amazing cast, crew, and producers and writers!

'And I can’t say enough about the FANS! Y’all have been so loyal, so loud, and so ride-or-die—and that’s exactly why we keep doing this. We can’t thank you enough. It means the world to us,' the entertainment vet expressed.

The caption concluded: 'And don’t worry—I’ll be back kicking a** in something new real soon. Can’t wait to share it with you. All my ❤️QL.'

Last September Flavor Unit announced it was joining forces with HarbourView Equity, Jesse Collins, and Westbrook to bring to fruition a set of biopics.

It was unveiled in an Instagram caption that read, 'We are excited to join forces to produce a slate of hip-hop biopics with these power teams, starting with the story of Queen Latifah. More to come!'

CBS had developed a potential spinoff series starring Titus Welliver and Juani Feliz but later opted not to go ahead with it. Welliver and Feliz guest-starred in an April episode that would have set up the spinoff.

The Equalizer is a co-production of Universal Television and CBS Studios. The show’s executive producers are Joseph C. Wilson, Dana Owens (Queen Latifah), Debra Martin Chase, Shakim Compere, John Davis, John Fox, Loretha Jones and Rob Hanning.

CBS will announce its 2025-26 schedule on May 7.