The Equalizer is an American spy thriller franchise initially co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim, and originating with a CBS television series from 1985 to 1989, starring Edward Woodward. The concept was thereafter rebooted twice, first with a pair of movies (The Equalizer in 2014 and The Equalizer 2 in 2018) starring Denzel Washington, slated to be followed up by a third film in 2023, and secondly with a re-imagined 2021 television series, also on CBS, starring Queen Latifah as Robyn McCall. A series of novels featuring Robert McCall has been written by original co-creator Michael Sloan, with the first volume published in 2014.