CBS greenlights The Equalizer, Silence of the Lambs reboots for next season

Two iconic crime titles are officially getting series orders for next season.

First, Queen Latifah's reboot of The Equalizer TV series is headed to CBS. The actress, rapper, and former talk show host will star in a reimagining of the 1985 show with Edward Woodward that was later made into two films (in 2014 and 2018) starring Denzel Washington.

Latifah will play "an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn." Chris Noth, Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles, Liza Lapira, and Laya DeLeon Hayes also star.

Also, a reboot of the novel and 1991 Oscar-winning film The Silence of the Lambs is coming. The series stars Rebecca Breeds (Pretty Little Liars) in the title role. The drama is described as "a deep dive into the untold personal story of brilliant and vulnerable FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, six months after the events of The Silence of the Lambs." Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, Lucca De Oliveira, and Devyn A. Tyler also star. Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet will produce. No word yet on who will play the franchise's iconic villain Hannibal Lecter.

CBS also greenlit to series a new comedy from sitcom king Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men) along with Marco Pennette titled B Positive. The show stars Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) and Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex) and follows "a therapist and newly divorced dad who is faced with finding a kidney donor when he runs into a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past who volunteers her own. Together they form an unlikely bond and begin a journey that will change both of their lives." Kether Donohue, Sara Rue, and Kamryn Kunody also star. Speaking of sitcom royalty, James Burrows (Friends, Cheers) directed the pilot.

Typically, CBS would likely say these shows will be on the air this fall. But given the industry-wide production shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the network can only say the show will be on sometime during the 2020-2021 broadcast season.

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