After CBS canceled CSI: Vegas and So Help Me Todd, The Equalizer has a good chance of coming back. According to Deadline, the action drama is the highest ranked in linear viewership and is No. 7 for all non-sports broadcast programs. Sources say star and executive producer Queen Latifah is in negotiations for a fifth season, which is in the final stages. Assuming her deal is closed, then fans can expect Season 5 to happen.
While CBS and producing studio Universal Television had difficult license fee negotiations, they have come to an agreement thanks to the show’s popularity alongside FBI and its spinoffs, which also come from Universal. In addition, despite Seasons 2 and 3 having 18 episodes, which was the max amount of episodes, it’s possible that with Season 5, that number could go up to 20, with CBS eyeing 22.
Season 4 of The Equalizer has seen much improvement from its third season. TV Series Finale reports that Season 4 has an average of 6.5 million viewers with a 0.49 rating in the 18-49 demo, while Season 3 averaged a 0.50 demo rating and 4.5 million viewers. Even though CBS is definitely cramming a lot into its schedule for next season, it sounds like The Equalizer will more than likely have a spot. It’s just a matter of when that announcement is made so fans can breathe a sigh of relief because it’s not safe until it’s actually safe.
Meanwhile, NCIS: Hawai’i is also still awaiting its fate and unfortunately, it seems like it can go in either direction. If the series is renewed for Season 4, there’s a high possibility that it will only consist of 13 episodes or so due to budget cuts, but it really would be better than a cancellation. There’s only so much room on CBS’ schedule for next season, and there’s no telling what will happen.
CBS should be making its final decisions any day now, but hopefully, it will be good news for fans of The Equalizer. In the meantime, new episodes air on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The Equalizer Season 4 finale airs on Sunday, May 19. Fingers crossed that it’s only the season finale and not the series finale, and with the way things seem to be going, the series is on the right track for Season 5.