Dolly Parton Wanted for Role on Major CBS Show

Queen Latifah hopes she can woo Dolly Parton for a guest spot on her CBS show The Equalizer. In a new Variety profile, Latifah said the country music icon is a big fan of the series, a reboot of the 1980s show of the same name. Parton and Latifah previously worked together on the 2012 movie Joyful Noise.

“Dolly literally wrote me a letter like, ‘You are a badass on that show!’” Latifah told Variety. “I may have to call and ask if she wants to be on.” Latifah’s grandmother, NaNa, is also a big fan of The Equalizer. “I’m still at work making sure she will be right in front of that television watching every Sunday,” she said.

After Parton and Latifah worked together on Joyful Noise, the Chicago star had nothing but great things to say about the “Jolene” singer. “She’s funny as hell. She is funny and quick-witted. She’s a little bit rambunctious. But ultimately, she’s an icon,” Latifah told Access Hollywood in 2012. “[Dolly] works harder than anyone I know… She is dedicated, she loves music and she loves her family and her friends. She treats everyone around her as family. That means a lot.”

Elsewhere in her new interview with Variety, Latifah said she hopes The Equalizer gets picked up for a third season after the production ironed out its kinks in the first two seasons. The show is one of the few CBS dramas not to be renewed for fall 2022 yet. The biggest change for The Equalizer came partway through Season 2 when Chris Noth’s character was killed off. CBS and Universal Television fired Noth after sexual harassment allegations against him surfaced last fall. Noth denied the allegations.

“[We’re] digesting what worked and what didn’t work, because we’ve got some serious fans who love the show,” Latifah told Variety. “We want to make sure that we keep them and build on that audience.” She also believes the show represents people “who really need to see some justice met… They need to see their stories told, and they need to see the good guys win – and in this case, the good gal.”

The Equalizer debuted in February 2021 and is inspired by the 1985-1989 series of the same name starring Edward Woodward. Denzel Washington also starred in 2014 and 2018 movies inspired by the series. In Latifah’s show, she plays Robyn McCall, a former CIA operative-turned-street vigilante. Tom Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon Hayes, and Lorraine Toussaint also star. New episodes air Sundays at 8 p.m. ET and are available to stream on Paramount+.

Latifah also has two Netflix movies in the pipeline, Hustle with Adam Sandler and End of the Road with Ludacris. She has also been working on a sequel to 2010’s Just Wright with Common, but she told Variety the two will “probably be 80” by the time they make it because of their busy schedules.