Casting is underway for the roles: a skilled younger female martial artist, weapons expert and criminologist with a secret story that calls on McCall (Queen Latifah) for help, and an older male former top CIA agent. It is unclear whether he and McCall know each other from their time at the agency. Both are guest stars with series regular options for the potential spinoff.
If the split goes through, the two-lead format would be a departure from the original 1985 The Equalizer series, the current CBS reboot, and the film franchise, all of which had one lead, male (first series and films) and female (the Queen Latifah version).
Episode 16 of The Equalizer, which will air in the spring, is not designated as a backdoor pilot. CBS has taken a more informal approach with its planned spinoffs, introducing potential main characters in storylines integrated into regular episodes of the main series.
The network did this with Fire Country, with Morena Baccarin guest-starring as a sheriff last season before the network gave a series order to a spinoff built around her character. The firefighter drama could follow the same playbook with a Jared Padalecki guest star this season that could also spawn an offshoot.
Similarly, a guest-starring role by Tracy Morgan on CBS's The Neighborhood led to a spinoff series, Clutch, on Paramount+, in which Morgan's character gets a makeover.
In addition to Fire Country, The Equalizer aims to join other multi-series drama franchises currently on CBS, such as NCIS and FBI.
A remake of the classic series, The Equalizer stars Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall, an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills as a former CIA agent to help people with nowhere else to turn.
The season five cast also includes Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon Hayes and Lorraine Toussaint.
