CBS Renews Drama Series for 2 More Seasons

CBS has announced the renewal of a fan-favorite drama series for two more seasons. Fans of the networks’ Queen Latifah-led crime series, The Equalizer, are in luck, because the show has been picked up for Seasons 3 and 4. The Equalizer has been the #1 scripted drama on Sunday nights, averaging more than nine million viewers a week, and it also recently brought on new showrunners: Joseph C. Wilson and Adam Glass.

“The Equalizer continues to pack a powerful punch on Sunday nights, and we’re thrilled to have it back for two more seasons,” said Thom Sherman, senior executive vice president of programming at CBS Entertainment, per Deadline. “The success of The Equalizer is due to the sum of its parts – an outstanding cast led by the superb Queen Latifah, plus the exceptional creative team that has continued to evolve their storytelling with a compelling mix of everyday justice, family dynamics and real-world issues that connect and resonate with audiences.” In addition to Latifah, The Equalizer also stars Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira and Laya DeLeon Hayes.

Notably, actor Chris Noth starred in the first season of The Equalizer, and appeared in several Season 2 episodes, but he was fired from the CBS action-drama series last year, following the surfacing of multiple sexual assault allegations against the star. According to The Wrap, Universal Television and CBS issued a very brief joint statement that read, “Chris Noth will no longer film additional episodes of The Equalizer, effective immediately.” Noth played ex–CIA director William Bishop on The Equalizer.

In December, The Hollywood Reporter published a detailed report of accusations against Noth, brought forward by two women. The women claim that Noth raped them, with one alleged incident taking place in 2004 and the other happening in 2015. THR reached out to Noth for a statement, and he did reply. 

“The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross,” Noth stated. “The encounters were consensual. It’s difficult not to question the timing of these stories coming out. I don’t know for certain why they are surfacing now, but I do know this: I did not assault these women.” His character was later killed off the show in a sabotaged plane crash.