TV series
If the rules are against you he'll change them. If the odds are against you he'll even them.
Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.
Availability
Checked Jul 22, 2026
The Equalizer premiered September 18, 1985. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
A former government agent offers his services to people facing problems too big for them to handle, such as a woman being stalked by a psychopath and a man who learns of a blackmail scheme involving government officials.
Directed by Rod HolcombWritten by Michael SloanGuest stars Paul Jabara, George Hearn, Patricia Kalember, David Proval, Jerry Stiller, Casey Biggs, David Labiosa, Scott Burkholder
Episode 2
McCall comes to the aid of a housekeeper when kidnappers grab her son by mistake.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Joel Surnow, Victor Hsu, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, James Russo, Don Li Yat-Long, Lauren Tom, Ching Valdes-Aran, Jodi Long, Tzi Ma, Pippa Pearthree
Episode 3
McCall helps a double agent defect and a young boy stand up to bullies.
Directed by Rod HolcombWritten by Heywood GouldGuest stars Colin Fox, Melissa Leo, Victor Argo, Robert Joy, Joe Silver, Jaroslav Stremien, Tom Brennan, Jorge Noa
Episode 4
McCall helps a man whose daughter has been abducted by a pimp who services covert government operations.
Directed by Russ MayberryWritten by Joel Surnow, Frank Military, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Luis Guzmán, Adam Ant, Sara Botsford, Lori Petty, David Alan Grier, Richard Portnow, Jamie Tirelli, Jeff McCarthy
Episode 5
A crooked cop is willing to murder to ensure that his new partner won't blow the whistle on his operations.
Directed by Russ MayberryWritten by Joel Surnow, Kathryn Bigelow, Maurice Hurley, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Michael Higgins, Reginald VelJohnson, Will Patton, Karen Young, Esai Morales, Bruce MacVittie, Adam Redfield, Miguel Piñero
Episode 6
McCall helps a former showgirl convinced someone is stalking her and a boy whose father helped steal antiques now wanted by two separate parties.
Directed by Richard A. CollaWritten by Gene Miller, Edward Adler, Eric Blakeney, Heywood GouldGuest stars Lois Smith, Burt Young, Anne Jackson, Joseph Wiseman, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, John Capodice, Jerry Mayer, Tom Signorelli
Episode 7
Father and son protect a girl from would-be rapists intent on killing the only witness to a murder.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Joel Surnow, Howard Chesley, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Perry Lang, Ed O'Neill, Bradley Whitford, Ken Jenkins, Dana Barron, William Youmans, Tom Isbell, Angela Pietropinto
Episode 8
A hit man wants help to prevent another killer from murdering a woman both McCall and the hitman once loved.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Joel Surnow, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Bill Cobbs, Dee Hoty, Saul Rubinek, Alberta Watson, George Morfogen, Jon DeVries, Lori Cardille, Jack Couch
Episode 9
A career woman wants McCall's aid in ending her son's fascination with a charismatic drug dealer.
Directed by James SheldonWritten by Heywood GouldGuest stars Christine Baranski, J. Smith-Cameron, Jim Dale, Alex Winter, Richard Frank, Bob Gunton, Jill Larson, Steven Williams
Episode 10
Muggers seek revenge on a student who injured one of them while escaping, and a vigilante killer pins McCall's ad to his victims.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Joel Surnow, Jim Trombetta, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Charles S. Dutton, Meat Loaf, Mark Linn-Baker, Brian Bedford, Geoff Pierson, Laura Ashton, Nathan George
Episode 11
A lonely, neglected wife gets more than she wanted when she considers a fling and ends up witnessing a murder.
Directed by Donald PetrieWritten by Charles Grant CraigGuest stars Blanche Baker, David Margulies, Ray Sharkey, Tovah Feldshuh, Richard Portnow, Luke Reilly, Carlos Carrasco, James Gleason
Episode 12
The new doctor at a local clinic refuses to give gang members drugs as `rent' for using their turf.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Steve Bello, Coleman LuckGuest stars Lester Rawlins, Lonette McKee, Tomas Milian, Fred Williamson, Rosemary De Angelis, Begonya Plaza, Alberto Vazquez, Stephen Chen
Episode 13
A banker is harassing tenants of a potentially valuable property and planning to murder his wife.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Joel Surnow, Neil Cohen, Maurice HurleyGuest stars Marisa Berenson, Frank Converse, Allen Swift, Anne Pitoniak, Charles Hallahan, Fred Williamson, Jean De Baer, Helen Hanft
Episode 14
An ex-con is harassing the man whose testimony put him away-the man now married to McCall's former wife.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Cyrus NowrastehGuest stars Brad Dourif, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Miles, Barry Primus, Jasmine Guy, James Gammon, Stephen McHattie, Hector Osorio
Episode 15
McCall assembles some old friends to protect a man marked for murder for no apparent reason.
Directed by Donald PetrieWritten by Maurice Hurley, Joel SurnowGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Robin Curtis, Saul Rubinek, James Eckhouse, David Leisure, James Murtaugh, Robert O'Reilly, David Leary
Episode 16
A window washer witnesses the murder of his pro-union partner by their anti-union boss, who has his own witnesses to back his self-defense claim.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Mark FrostGuest stars Michael O'Hare, Brian Tarantina, Robert Davi, Bill Cwikowski, Carol Cass, John McCurry, James Congdon, Carlo Hart
Episode 17
McCall tries to divide his time between defending a woman from her abusive husband and settling with an old enemy.
Directed by Russ MayberryWritten by Carleton Eastlake, Maurice Hurley, Joel SurnowGuest stars Caitlin Clarke, Patricia Richardson, Saul Rubinek, Melissa Joan Hart, Zohra Lampert, Charles Robinson, Richard Grusin, Robert John Burke
Episode 18
McCall's on the trail of a serial killer, leaving him little time for an actress fallen into the wrong crowd.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Scott Shepherd, Coleman Luck, Susan WoollenGuest stars Gwen Verdon, Kim Delaney, Joe Lisi, Cathryn de Prume, Bobby Di Cicco, Kevin Geer, Stephen Joyce, Charlotte Moore
Episode 19
McCall is among those taken hostage by terrorists seeking a Middle Eastern philanthropist.
Directed by Russ MayberryWritten by Don Carlos Dunaway, Scott ShepherdGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Tony Shalhoub, Phyllis Newman, Richard Hamilton, Dann Florek, Earl Hindman, Patricia Clarkson, Aharon Ipalé
Episode 20
A womanizer is abducted and threatened with death if he doesn't give his captors what they want-but he can't figure out what.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Mark FrostGuest stars Laurie Metcalf, D.W. Moffett, Linda Thorson, Kelly Curtis, Madison Arnold, Karen Morris-Gowdy, Nitchie Barrett, Roni Margolis
Episode 21
McCall is hired by an inventor whose designs were stolen by a huge corporation headed by a ruthless executive.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Grenville Case, John BurkeGuest stars Jon Polito, John Cullum, Dan Hedaya, Regina Baff, John Cameron Mitchell, Cameron Johann, Joseph Ragno, Lee Wallace
Episode 22
An aspiring reporter, desperate for a scoop that will get her notice and a promotion, becomes convinced that something big is happening right in the next apartment.
Directed by Richard ComptonWritten by Scott ShepherdGuest stars Tony Musante, Tom Atkins, Philip Bosco, Chad Redding, Albert Macklin, Bruce Jarchow, Katherine Cortez, Scott Rhyne
Episode information updated Jul 22, 2026
Available now in United States
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Edward WoodwardRobert McCall
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Saul RubinekJason Masur
Charles CioffiLieutenant Kramer
Melissa Sue AndersonYvette Marcel
Christopher MurneyRudy Bagler
CBSUnited States
Universal TelevisionUnited States
