The Equalizer is a typical CBS crime procedural elevated by Queen Latifah

Variety

"By the end of the first episode, it’s clear that the show is less of a brand new take on The Equalizer than it is a straight up take on a CBS procedural about a rogue agent with a heart of gold," says Caroline Framke. The major difference that The Equalizer is then banking on to set it apart from the rest of the network’s lineup is the fact that its center of gravity is Latifah, an executive producer and genuine star who has no trouble shrugging on this latest role. A scene late in the pilot, in which Robyn gently but firmly tells her daughter that society’s odds don’t favor Black girls, also underlines the show’s true motivating premise: that Robyn is a Black woman trying to do right by people who too often fall through the cracks. Absent any particularly interesting twists on the procedural tradition from whence it came, this Equalizer will do well to flesh out the specificity of the woman driving it."

ALSO:

• Queen Latifah's presence gives The Equalizer reboot in an edge: Yes, the CBS crime drama from Castle executive producers Andrew Marlow and Terri Miller, which premieres after the Super Bowl, is standard CBS crime drama fare. But as former CIA agent Robyn McCall, Latifah "has an easy charisma and an air of authority as Robyn — and she’s also a major upgrade in the fight scenes," says Dave Nemetz.
• Latifah's Equalizer feels especially resonant in wake of the U.S. Capitol siege
• Based on the pilot, The Equalizer is definitely meat-and-potatoes TV -- but Latifah gives it something extra
• Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the stylish wild ride alongside the charismatic Queen Latifah
• Queen Latifah on why The Equalizer feels relevant today: "When we started this project," she says, "little did we know that we would face a pandemic; we would face such amazing divisiveness in this country; we would have to deal with a real, real hard look at the racial inequities, of the social inequities, of the financial inequities of this country. We just didn't know that, God, would we need to see justice. There's just so many different things that are going on that made this show timely."