Celebrity Extra: The Equalizer
By Dana Jackson
Q: Will "The Equalizer" return for another season? I'm really enjoying it, even though it's very different from the original series back in the '80s. -- J.J.
A: The original series ran for four seasons on CBS and starred British actor Edward Woodward as a retired intelligence agent turned private investigator. While Woodward's character focused on violent offenders, the current series, which stars Queen Latifah, is about an ex-CIA agent turned social justice warrior. Fans of the show might not know that there also have been two motion pictures based on "The Equalizer" starring Denzel Washington.
TVLine.com reports that new showrunners will take over "The Equalizer" for its "all-but-guaranteed season three renewal." Andrew W. Marlowe and Terri Edda Miller created the modern version based on the Woodward-led eponymous series. The new executives behind the scenes include Joseph C. Wilson, who has been with the show since season one, so I wouldn't expect any major changes. "The Equalizer" has about 7.5 million loyal viewers each week, so if it's not broke, why fix it?
Queen Latifah in "The Equalizer". Photo credit: CBS Entertainment.
Q: Whatever happened to the sitcom that Kelsey Grammer and Alec Baldwin were doing? Did the tragedy surrounding Baldwin's movie "Rust" cause producers to cancel the show? -- L.K.
A: The untitled comedy series starring sitcom legends Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier") and Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock") was finished before it ever got started. ABC passed on the series after viewing the pilot last April, months before the horrific tragedy on the set of Baldwin's movie "Rust" in which cinematographer Halyna Hutchins lost her life. Baldwin is reportedly doing a movie overseas now, as he faces a lawsuit from Hutchins' family. His career in the U.S. might not ever recover.
Meanwhile, Grammer's next project is the upcoming "Flowers in the Attic: The Origin," a TV miniseries premiering July 9 on Lifetime that also stars another television icon, Harry Hamlin ("L.A. Law").
Q: What is my all-time favorite actor Nick Nolte doing these days? I loved him in one of my favorite comedies, "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," and then later in "The Prince of Tides." I haven't seen him in recent years, however. -- K.L.
A: The now 81-year-old three-time Oscar nominee is still acting. His first major role was back in 1976 in the hit TV drama "Rich Man, Poor Man," but it wasn't long before he became a movie star. In 1979, he starred in the satiric football comedy "North Dallas Forty" and followed that with the blockbuster cop comedy "48 Hrs." opposite Eddie Murphy. In 1991, he wowed audiences in the thriller "Cape Fear," with Robert DeNiro, and subsequently made us cry in "Prince of Tides" opposite Barbra Streisand.
In recent years, he's joined the "Star Wars" franchise by voicing the character of Kuiil on "The Mandalorian," and he can be seen in the Spectrum Originals series "Paradise Lost" with Barbara Hershey. Nolte recently finished wrapping up a new action movie with Josh Duhamel called "Blackout."
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