One of the elements of The Blacklist that 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 Blacklist did 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 potential The Equalizer spinoff.
Titus Welliver was set to star in a spinoff of The Equalizer, bringing another father-daughter arc to a series. However, just days after the backdoor pilot in season 5, The Equalizer spinoff was canceled by CBS, which was disappointing for those ready for more from this series. The best thing about The Equalizer spinoff is it would have picked up the arc from later in The Blacklist rather than purely replicating it from the start, making it the perfect The Blacklist replacement show.
The Equalizer’s Titus Welliver Spinoff Explained
The Equalizer Introduced Us To Samantha And Eli Reed
As The Equalizer season 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 Feliz joined 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, and Samantha learned that Eli wasn’t her biological father after all.
The end of The Equalizer season 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 her as 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 in The Blacklist offered 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 Blacklist certainly 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 Equalizer spinoff had a chance to replicate 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 to The 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 after The Equalizer spinoff 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 on CBS also canceling The Equalizer after five seasons, with the main speculation being finances. The Equalizer is 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, with TV Series Finale sharing 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, with Einstein being moved to the 2026–2027 schedule, and CBS probably thought The Equalizer spinoff was too high of a risk, disappointing The Blacklist viewers.
