Angelique Jackson Last week, “The Equalizer” star and executive producer Queen Latifah announced that the hit CBS series had been picked up for a third and fourth season.The show, in which Latifah plays vigilante Robyn McCall, is currently the network’s No. 2 primetime series, behind only stalwart show “NCIS,” so the multi-season commitment is logical.
But success is never a given, at least not in Latifah’s eyes, who told Variety she’s “never satisfied” with the status quo.“I’ve been fortunate enough to have a film career where we were always coming up with new things. We’re always trying to push the envelope and be more creative, so I bring that mentality to television,” she explained.
“How can we push it even further? How can we make it even more beautiful or more interesting?” Honored as one of Variety’s Power of Women cover stars, Latifah hopped on the phone for an interview just days after wrapping filming on “The Equalizer,” but as an executive producer of the show under her Flavor Unit Entertainment banner, her work wasn’t done when the cameras stopped rolling. She was thinking ahead to next season before the pickup was officially announced on May 5.“[We’re] digesting what worked and what didn’t work, and stepping our game up, leveling up for next year, because we’ve got some serious fans who love the show,” she said.
“We want to make sure that we keep them and build on that audience.”Her top priority is satisfying one of the show’s most avid viewers, her grandmother, NaNa: “I’m still at work making sure she will be right in front of that television watching every Sunday.”Another “Equalizer” superfan is her “Joyful Noise” co-star Dolly Parton. “Dolly literally wrote me a letter like, ‘You are a badass on that
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film
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Denzel Washington
Dolly Parton
Robyn Maccall
Angelique Jackson