The Equalizer‘s season finale unexpectedly ended up as a series finale — but what was the original plan for the next installment of the show before it got canceled?
During the Sunday, May 4, conclusion, Robyn (Queen Latifah) and Dante (Tory Kittles) enjoyed a romantic getaway that was interrupted by Salazar (Juan Javier Cardenas). Dante was shot by Salazar, but recovered — and Robyn subsequently accepted his marriage proposal.
Harry (Adam Goldberg) and Mel (Liza Lapira), meanwhile, started to discuss the idea of them moving into a new career path. They didn’t make an official decision yet, but their exit from equalizing was looming over them. Then there was Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes) and she was still considering college while Vi (Lorraine Toussaint) moved in with Curtis (Christopher B. Duncan).
Showrunner Joe Wilson broke down where the show would go from there.
CBS Cancels ‘The Equalizer’ After Season 5
“It was definitely on purpose. We didn’t want to end with a cliffhanger. Shows get a little older. We are going into our sixth season budget, and money becomes an issue,” Wilson told TV Insider in an interview conducted before news broke about The Equalizer coming to an end. “We weren’t sure what was going to happen, and if we did end up on that wrong side, we did not want the fans to feel incomplete or cheated in any way. So we designed it in a way that can feel like an ending, but there’s so much more to unpack.”
Wilson wanted the season to end on a positive note.
“When we introduced the Salazar character, I knew I wanted to book in with him and then we had to keep him alive in the middle of the season, so everybody remembered who he was. He’s a fantastic actor and villain,” he continued. “But I knew I wanted to do the proposal like that.”
Wilson added: “I’ve been wanting to do that for years, but we had to get them through certain markers on their relationship before we can do it. So once we knew and we opened up the season, there is no team, that whole thing and Dante — that was the plan from the beginning.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Wilson teased what would happen to the characters from here — starting with Harry and Mel.
“We wanted to play that to be realistic,” he noted. “It’s that whole, with great power comes great responsibility and who else is going to protect the people who need help? And they have the power, so they decide we’re going to keep doing this. It is our duty. So yes, it’s dangerous. Yes, we can put our lives on the line, but somebody has to do it.”
There were conversations that took place about Harry and Mel’s potential shakeup. “We had an episode where Harry was talking about his bucket list, and is it the traveling? Is it to do all the things that they’ve never done? Is it take a chance to breathe? I think they’ll get bored, and they’ll miss the juice,” Wilson admitted. “That would be a lot of fun to see them ticking off that bucket list. If that was a spinoff, it would be them ticking off the bucket list, but getting in adventures along the way.”
Wilson was asked about ending the season 5 finale as if it could be the end of the series, to which he said, “I hope we get [a season 6]. ,,, If we do get it, there are wedding bells. We will see that wedding. It is going to be crazier than the proposal. It is feature worthy, what we would do with it. And just the continuing, what does their relationship look like equalizing as a family business as she says in this episode. So those are the things we’d focus on.”
The Equalizer was expected to go through some changes if it scored a sixth season.
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“We’d have to see how it unfolds. Our plan is to set it up for the audience to not miss the family dynamic as it currently is,” Wilson explained. “So they’ll be in different capacities, but with technology and travel, we don’t want to lose that core. That’s the core of the show, these three generations of black women and their relationship and the strength and support. We don’t want to lose that. So if anything, we’ll dial it in even more so we can focus on that a little bit more. Even if you don’t see it every episode, you won’t miss it.”
Based on the original series of the same name, The Equalizer, which premiered in 2021, centered on Queen Latifah‘s character, who used her mysterious background and extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn. Days before the show wrapped up its fifth season, CBS confirmed that The Equalizer was canceled.
“Stepping into a kick-ass role like Robyn was everything I hoped it would be,” Queen Latifah, 55, wrote via Instagram on Friday, May 2. “The Equalizer blew past every dream we had for it, and having the opportunity to do this for five seasons honestly feels surreal.”
Queen Latifah thanks those who supported the show.
“Thank you to our amazing cast, crew, and producers and writers!,” she continued. “And I can’t say enough about the FANS!Y’all have been so loyal, so loud, and so ride-or-die—and that’s exactly why we keep doing this. We can’t thank you enough. It means the world to us. Don’t worry — I’ll be back kicking ass in something new real soon.”
