# The Equalizer (1985)

> A retired secret agent runs a one-man service in New York City, using his covert skills to even the odds for victims the system has failed.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4083

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 88
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: action, crime, drama
- Created by: Richard Lindheim, Michael Sloan
- Network: CBS
- Cast: Edward Woodward, Keith Szarabajka, Lori Loughlin, Lisa Pelikan, Telly Savalas, Luis Guzmán, Paul Jabara, James Russo
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088513/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, tense, morally serious, grounded

## What critics say

Audiences rate The Equalizer as a positive, well-liked vigilante drama, with Edward Woodward's lead performance central to its appeal.

## Synopsis

The Equalizer (1985-1989) is a Canadian-American action crime drama series created by Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloan for CBS. Edward Woodward plays Robert McCall, a former secret government agent who now runs a private operation in New York City, offering help to people who have exhausted every legal avenue and have nowhere else to turn. Keith Szarabajka plays Mickey Kostmayer, one of the figures around him, and guest stars such as Robert Mitchum and Telly Savalas appear in individual episodes. Each week McCall takes on a new client's problem, and the engine of the show is his methodical planning against powerful people who hold all the advantages, with the threat of violence always close at hand. The series runs four seasons of twenty-two episodes each, built as self-contained case stories rather than one continuing arc. Its mood is tense, gritty and grounded, with a moral seriousness that gives the action real weight. Set in 1980s New York, it has the feel of a classic network crime series, and fans of Jack Reacher, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and the original Professionals will find the same appeal in a lone avenger with a code.

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