The Equalizer is getting a lift thanks to Jada Pinkett Smith. Queen Latifah’s longtime friend and frequent collaborator is joining the CBS drama, now in its second season. The show recently lost Chris Noth, who was fired after he was accused of sexual assault by four women in December.
Smith was cast as Jessie Cook, a brilliant thief who never forgets anything, reports TVLine. The character is “amoral, devious, and unpredictable,” which could also describe Smith’s role as gangster Fish Mooney on Gotham.Jessie and Latifah’s Robin McCall worked together for the CIA, but their differing philosophy led the two to end their working relationship. They vowed to never work together again, so fans will have to check out The Equalizer to see what event reunites them.
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Latifah and Smith have worked together on the big screen several times. They first shared the screen in F. Gary Gray’s 1996 heist hit Set It Off, alongside Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise. They reunited for Malcolm D. Lee’s Girls Trip, which made over $140 million worldwide in 2017. Smith was also an executive producer on the 2008 drama The Secret Life of Bees, which starred Latifah.
The Equalizer is a reboot of the hit 1980s series, which also inspired the 2014 and 2018 Denzel Washington movies. In the CBS series, Latifah’s Robyn is a former CIA operative and divorced single mother who works as a vigilante. Noth starred as William Bishop, a former CIA director who acted as a liaison between the agency and Robyn.
In late December, CBS and series producer Universal Television fired Noth after four women accused him of sexual assault. The Law & Order actor’s final episode was “Separated,” which aired on Jan. 2. In a January interview with PEOPLE, Latifah called Noth’s sudden departure “surreal,” adding, “It is such a dicey, delicate situation that requires a great deal of respect… That’s a personal thing that he’s going to have to deal with.”
“We are figuring out what we want to do creatively on the show and how we’re going to deal with that character,” Latifah continued. “Chris’s character’s obviously a big part of the show and it was amazing chemistry, amazing chemistry… and my feeling is justice has to prevail regardless. I just want the right things to be done, you know?” All episodes of The Equalizer are available to stream on Paramount+. The next new episode airs on Sunday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.
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