The Equalizer is an American action crime drama television series, originally airing on CBS from September 18, 1985, to August 24, 1989, which was co-created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim. It starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent with a mysterious past, who uses the skills from his former career to exact justice on behalf of innocent people who find themselves in dangerous circumstances, while sometimes also dealing with people from his past in covert operations who want to pull him back in or settle old scores. In the years after its cancellation, the show became a popular cult classic that inspired further works, including three feature films and a re-imagined series.