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.
Watch trailerAvailability
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.
Cast, crew and production details
Edward WoodwardRobert McCall
Keith SzarabajkaMickey Kostmayer
Anthony ZerbePhillipe Marcel
Austin PendletonJonah
Saul RubinekJason Masur
Charles CioffiLieutenant Kramer
Melissa Sue AndersonYvette Marcel
Christopher MurneyRudy Bagler
CBSUnited States
Universal TelevisionUnited StatesWatch options above are for the show and may vary by season or episode.
Episode 1
McCall and a former terrorist, now a monk, are both searching for the monk's former partner, a terrorist who uses plastic surgery after each assignment to keep ahead of his enemies.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Coleman LuckGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Telly Savalas, William Atherton, Christopher Murney, Moira Sinise, Tom Atkins, Elizabeth Franz, Lee Breuer
Where to watch The Equalizer
Episode 2
McCall and a former terrorist, now a monk, are both searching for the monk's former partner, a terrorist who uses plastic surgery after each assignment to keep ahead of his enemies.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Coleman LuckGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Telly Savalas, William Atherton, Christopher Murney, Moira Sinise, Tom Atkins, Elizabeth Franz, Lee Breuer
Where to watch The Equalizer
Episode 3
McCall regrets persuading a young retarded friend of his into going to the police after he witnesses a murder; he's arrested for the crime.
Directed by Russ MayberryWritten by Robert EiseleGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, John Randolph, Ann Wedgeworth, Charles Cioffi, Vincent D'Onofrio, William Converse-Roberts, Mary Kane, Keliher Walsh
Where to watch The Equalizer
Episode 4
The trading on Wall Street gets a little rough; McCall and Mickey pull a half-drowned woman from the river after she gets in the way of some ruthless manipulators.
Directed by Aaron LipstadtWritten by Scott Shepherd, Ed WatersGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Ashley Crow, Dennis Boutsikaris, Oliver Platt, John Heard, Paul Perri, Patricia Richardson, David Steinberg
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Episode 5
McCall tries to help a European defector free her parents from the KGB, who have kidnaped them to exert pressure on her to persuade another defector to return to their homeland.
Directed by Jim JohnstonWritten by Ann Lewis Hamilton, Scott ShepherdGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Michael Moriarty, Liliana Komorowska, Maureen Mueller, Jamey Sheridan, Noberto Kerner, Adam LeFevre, Lola Pashalinski
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Episode 6
Scott discovers that his father has been kidnapped by someone, and following his father's instructions, contacts an old Company colleague, Richard Dyson, who sets things in motion to find out who has McCall and to get him back.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Scott Shepherd, Ed WatersGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Robert Mitchum, Frankie Faison, Bill Doyle, Graves Kiely, Frances Fisher, Daniel Chapman, Tobin Bell
Where to watch The Equalizer
Episode 7
Scott discovers that his father has been kidnapped by someone, and following his father's instructions, contacts an old Company colleague, Richard Dyson, who sets things in motion to find out who has McCall and to get him back.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Scott Shepherd, Ed Waters, Robert Eisele, Coleman LuckGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Robert Mitchum, Frances Fisher, Ludmilla Bokievsky, Frederick Neumann, Daniel Chapman, Tobin Bell, Dave Florek
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Episode 8
McCall helps a fellow Intelligence officer stay alive despite someone's efforts to keep him from talking to a Congressional committee.
Directed by Russ MayberryWritten by Robert EiseleGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, J.T. Walsh, Christopher Murney, Tomas Milian, Maurice Hines, Paul Calderon, Tom Klunis, David Bryant
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Episode 9
A psychic can't convince the police that she has `seen' the next attack of a serial killer, so she turns to McCall for help in preventing it.
Directed by Marc LaubWritten by Jim TrombettaGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Terrence Mann, Katherine Cortez, Toni Kalem, Paul Hipp, Ron Vawter, Starletta DuPois, Sheila Stainback
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Episode 10
McCall and Kostmayer are caught with an acting company rehearsing a new work when a psychopath boobytraps the theater exits with bombs.
Directed by Alan MetzgerWritten by Robert EiseleGuest stars Jennifer Van Dyck, George Morfogen, Ned Eisenberg, Chris Cooper, Gwyllum Evans, Sharon Chatten, John Garson, Richard Jordan
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Episode 11
McCall asks Harley to help him handle a request for help from a six-year-old AIDS victim who is living with his grandmother and facing increasingly violent harassment from the frightened and angry neighbors.
Directed by Michael O'HerlihyWritten by Coleman LuckGuest stars Dean Norris, Corey Carrier, Jacqueline Brookes, Martin Shakar, Joseph Hindy, Robert Dorfman, Matthew Kimbrough, Don McManus
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Episode 12
A police station switchboard operator overhears a detective discussing the murder of his former partner and goes to McCall for help when she receives threats to keep her quiet.
Directed by Jonathan PerryWritten by David LightstoneGuest stars David Andrews, Amanda Plummer, Marilyn McIntyre, George DiCenzo, Madeleine Potter, John Seitz, William Carden, Matt Mitler
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Episode 13
A young woman asks McCall to help her boyfriend break away from the control of a junior Fagin.
Directed by Mark SobelWritten by Mick CurranGuest stars Lycia Naff, Jerry O'Connell, Max Casella, Christopher Collet, Thomas G. Waites, Frances Ruffelle, Mary-Joan Negro, Frank Whaley
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Episode 14
A reporter's wife asks McCall to find her husband, who has disappeared while working undercover on a call-girl operation involving blackmail and the death of his daughter.
Directed by James A. ContnerWritten by Peter McCabeGuest stars Daniel Davis, Annabelle Gurwitch, Vanessa Angel, Andreas Katsulas, John Bedford Lloyd, Maryann Urbano, Ching Valdes-Aran, Ray Gill
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Episode 15
The ex-wife of a European diplomat asks McCall to help her retrieve her son from his father before he can leave the country with the boy and $10 million in mob money.
Directed by Luis SotoWritten by Kevin DroneyGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Lisa Eichhorn, Macaulay Culkin, Richard Jordan, Jon DeVries, Ronald Hunter, Leon Russom, Debra Stricklin
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Episode 16
Yvette Marcel asks her godfather Control and McCall for help dealing with her irrational father, who is intent on locating Manon, the mother she believed had been killed years before.
Directed by Bradford MayWritten by Coleman LuckGuest stars Anthony Zerbe, Anne Heywood, Melissa Sue Anderson, Roger Grimsby, Irving Metzman, Mark Margolis, Kenneth Solarino, William Zabka
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Episode 17
Yvette Marcel asks her godfather Control and McCall for help dealing with her irrational father, who is intent on locating Manon, the mother she believed had been killed years before.
Directed by Bradford MayWritten by Coleman LuckGuest stars Anthony Zerbe, Anne Heywood, Lawrence Dane, Melissa Sue Anderson, Irving Metzman, William Zabka, Robert Lansing
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Episode 18
McCall comes to the aid of a recently dispossessed man and his family who has been moved in a welfare hotel and is facing pressure from the landlord to take part in his welfare scams.
Directed by Tobe HooperWritten by Robert EiseleGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Michael Lerner, Michael Rooker, Richard Bright, Kelly Curtis, Leo Burmester, Matthew Stamm, Ed Lauter
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Episode 19
A rapist being hunted by a mob assassin takes hostage Kostmayer, Pete and several customers.
Directed by Michael O'HerlihyWritten by Robert CraisGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Vitamin C, David Schramm, Joe Maruzzo, Michael Cerveris, Kathleen Doyle, James Rebhorn, Peter Sellars
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Episode 20
A young woman trying to start her life over faces continuing harassment from her upscale, professional husband who won't let her go but who is smart enough to conceal his activities.
Directed by James A. ContnerWritten by Robert CraisGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Polly Holliday, Tony Longo, J. Smith-Cameron, Philip Kraus, Jean De Baer, Rusty Riegelman, Debra Jo Rupp
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Episode 21
A man fears for his life and that of his family when the murderer he helped put away is paroled and turns up living in his neighborhood.
Directed by Mark SobelWritten by Kevin DroneyGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Cecily Adams, Verna Bloom, John Bedford Lloyd, Michael Parks, Kevin Geer, Steven Marcus, Lenny Venito
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Episode 22
McCall's former protege at the Agency calls in a panic when she is apparently framed for the theft of a large amount of money from her gangster employer, but he arrives too late to save her life.
Directed by Marc LaubWritten by Peter McCabe, Scott ShepherdGuest stars Keith Szarabajka, Joseph Mascolo, Susan Gibney, Anne Twomey, Lewis van Bergen, Barry Snider, Mary Layne, Benjamin Levy
Where to watch The EqualizerEpisode information updated Jul 22, 2026
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