One of the elements ofThe Blacklistthat made it so great was the father-daughter dynamic. The crime genre is oversaturated, so something unique is needed to drive people toward a show.The Blacklistdid that by introducing the plot of whether or not Red (James Spader) was Elizabeth’s (Megan Boone) dad or not. There hasn’t been a series since this one that captured that element until the potentialThe Equalizerspinoff.
Titus Welliver was set to star in a spinoff ofThe Equalizer, bringing another father-daughter arc to a series. However, just days after the backdoor pilot in season 5,The Equalizerspinoff was canceled by CBS, which was disappointing for those ready for more from this series. The best thing about The Equalizer spinoff is itwould have picked up the arc from later inThe Blacklistrather than purely replicating it from the start, making it the perfectThe Blacklistreplacement show.
The Equalizer’s Titus Welliver Spinoff Explained
The Equalizer Introduced Us To Samantha And Eli Reed
AsThe Equalizerseason 5 closed in on the end, the creators decided it would be a great time to bring a spinoff, and CBS agreed with this.Titus Welliver and Juani Felizjoined as Eli and Samantha Reed, with Samantha turning to Queen Latifah’s Robyn McCall in the backdoor pilot for help saving her father. Eli was a former CIA agent held hostage, andSamantha learned that Eli wasn’t her biological father after all.
The end ofThe Equalizerseason 5, episode 16, saw Samantha choose to live a life similar to Robyn, helping people who otherwise wouldn’t get it. She wanted to do it in Atlanta, though, and she was open to Eli being close to her. However,she was still angry at Eli for all the lies he had told heras she grew up, but the spinoff offered a chance at redemption.
The Blacklist’s Father-Daughter Premise Would Have Been Replicated In The Equalizer Spinoff
Eli Would Have Been The Perfect Red Replacement
The father-daughter arc inThe Blacklistoffered a balance of mystery and redemption. However,it was never clear if Red wanted redemption or not, and sadly, the series couldn’t quite wrap it all up due to Boone wanting to leave the series and the writers choosing to kill off Elizabeth.The Blacklistcertainly lost some of its allure without Elizabeth around.
At the same time, Samantha knew Eli growing up and learned her skills from him, adding more history and layers to this relationship, which could have been uncovered throughout the series.
The Equalizerspinoff had a chance toreplicate the difficult relationship but also offer redemption at the same time. Seeing Samantha and Eli working together to bring justice to others while working through the lies and deceit would have brought a similar dynamic toThe Blacklist, adding a layer of mystery and hope to the new series. At the same time, Samantha knew Eli growing up and learned her skills from him, adding more history and layers to this relationship, which could have been uncovered throughout the series.
Why CBS Didn’t Move Forward With Titus Welliver’s The Equalizer Show
CBS Hasn’t Given A Reason For The Disappointing Decision
Just days afterThe Equalizerspinoff backdoor pilot aired, CBS opted not to move forward with it. What was even more disappointing was that the network didn’t offer a reason for this. It’s led to a lot of speculation, especially based onCBS also cancelingThe Equalizerafter five seasons, with the main speculation being finances.The Equalizeris a Universal TV-produced show, and the spinoff would have been as well.This meant CBS had to license the series, and if there were no favorable deals for both Universal TV and CBS, then negotiations would have failed.
At the same time, the linear ratings weren’t that strong for a backdoor pilot, withTV Series Finalesharing that the demo and audience were down 20% and 1% respectively from the previous episode, which suggested no interest in the spinoff. Mixed with an already packed 2025–2026 TV schedule, withEinsteinbeing moved to the 2026–2027 schedule, and CBS probably thoughtThe Equalizerspinoff was too high of a risk, disappointingThe Blacklistviewers.
