Many Queen Latifah fans were a bit surprised a couple of years ago when it was announced that the Oscar nominee and former Star and Living Single lead was planning a return to TV in the drama The Equalizer. But, it didn't take long for the project to get off the ground and hit our TVs (right after this year's Super Bowl), and prove to be a great move for the multi-hyphenate star. The Equalizer connected with audiences right out of the gate, and now it's led Queen Latifah and more stars of the freshman hit to celebrate the show's Season 2 renewal.
CBS fans love a procedural, and they've been given a rebooted property with a lot of new angles in The Equalizer. The series, which is based on the popular '80s hit of the same name which starred Edward Woodward, now follows Queen Latifah's Robyn McCall as a former CIA operative who's decided to use her considerable skills to work secretly as a vigilante, fighting for people who've been wronged and usually have no way to fight back on their own.
After only four episodes, The Equalizer is now the number one scripted show in viewers, adults 25-54, and adults 18-49, averaging 14.6 million eyeballs per week, and Queen Latifah took to Twitter to share her excitement at the early renewal:
There's no doubt in my mind that Queen Latifah is truly excited at the Season 2 renewal for The Equalizer. Sure, this might not be the most effusive tweet ever when it comes to posting good news, but Latifah is both the star and an executive producer on her new hit series, so she's probably already very aware of the amount of work she's about to embark on to help deliver both the rest of this season and a new season which will satisfy fans.
One of her executive producing partners on the series, Debra Martin Chase (The Princess Diaries, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), had much more to say on the renewal, and thanked the fans for "embracing" the show, a sentiment which actor Tory Kittles (who plays Detective Marcus Dante, a cop tracking Robyn's vigilante activities) echoed on Instagram:
season2 of #theequalizer is coming!!!! you all made this happen, and i’m extremely grateful and humbled that we get to continue the story. thank you - thank you - thank you. keep tuning!!!! #theequalizer
Kittles amplified his message with the use of three heart emojis to show how much he (and probably everyone involved in The Equalizer) appreciates the support of the fans, which star Lorraine Toussaint (Robyn's Aunt Vi), also shared, along with one of her signature looks from the show:
Aren't you glad we're going to get more of these looks every Sunday night? Fans likely love Aunt Vi as much as Toussaint loves the fans. People tuned in for The Equalizer's post-Super Bowl premiere to the tune of 23.8 million viewers, meaning it was able to keep 40% of the audience for the post game show, the best numbers since New Girl's half hour showing in 2014 (40%) and the best hour-long retention since Glee's post-game spot in 2011 (41%).
Liza Lapira, who plays Mel Bayani, a bar owner and former colleague from Robyn's past who helps her with her modern day missions, posted her thanks on Instagram, and kept fans pumped for what's to come, saying:
SEASON 2! Thank you everyone for tuning in and supporting the show! Looking forward to sharing what’s next. See you soon
Lapira wrapped her post with the two heart emoji to help show her love for the fans and all the episodes to come of The Equalizer which they helped to make a reality. And, you can bet that she, Queen Latifah, Tory Kittles, Lorraine Toussaint and the rest of the cast and crew are all looking forward to bringing fans more intriguing cases where Robyn and her friends help the helpless while trying to stay several steps ahead of the cops.
The Equalizer airs Sundays on CBS at 8 p.m. EST.
