Ratings Report: ‘The Equalizer’ keeps fans coming back, ‘National Treasure: Edge of History’ flops with critics and audiences alike
Broadcast: CBS’s The Equalizer continues to delight audiences, drawing in 6.81 million viewers per episode on average in its third season. This season’s latest episode, which aired on Nov. 27, earned a 0.48 rating with adults 18-49 (A18-49) and counted 6.56 million total viewers. The previous week’s episode performed better with the younger demographic, garnering a 0.65 A18-49 rating, but drew fewer overall viewers, counting 6.36 million in total. Season one of The Equalizer measured an average viewership count of 7.50 million per episode. Season two counted an average of 6.89 million viewers per episode. While the numbers for the current run are a bit lower than previous years, audience engagement remains strong for the crime procedural. The Equalizer owes its success to a few important factors. The series is the latest in a franchise dating back to 1985 when the original show of the same name was created by writers Robert Lindheim and Michael Sloan. Following the show’s 1989 conclusion, a 2014 film starring Denzel Washington and its subsequent 2018 sequel reintroduced Robert McCall to contemporary audiences. The momentum of these earlier adaptations certainly helped the CBS series gain a strong foothold with viewers. Another factor in its success is the casting of Queen Latifah (Chicago, Bringing Down the House) as the titular ‘Equalizer,’ Robyn McCall. Latifah’s star power and impressive acting chops are the crowning jewel of the reboot.
CBS’s The Equalizer was created by Andrew W. Marlow and Terri Edda Miller. Marlow is the screenwriter behind 1999’s End of Days and 2000’s Hollow Man as well as the creator of ABC’s hit police procedural, Castle. Miller is a writer and producer who also worked on Castle. Marlow and Miller previously created the short-lived private investigator drama, Take Two. In addition to Latifah, The Equalizer stars Tory Kittles (Colony, Bessie), Adam Goldberg (A Beautiful Mind, Saving Private Ryan), Liza Lapira (21, Fast & Furious), Laya Deleon Hayes (Doc McStuffins, Just Add Magic) and Lorraine Toussaint (Selma, Orange is the New Black). The Equalizer returns to CBS on Feb. 19.
Streaming: The Dec. 14 premiere of National Treasure: Edge of History on Disney+ left audiences less than satisfied with the latest iteration of the historical drama franchise. Although the first season is still airing, critics and netizens on the popular ratings site Rotten Tomatoes have already decided that the series lacks the same appeal that fueled the original film series. The show has been given a 42% approval rating by critics and a 33% audience score with over 200 users responding. The critical consensus is that National Treasure: Edge of History is too self-aware of its origins without managing to capture the charisma and intellect that enchanted fans of the movies. Given its lackluster reception, it’s unlikely the show will spawn a second season.
The series was developed for television by Cormac and Marianne Wibberley, the husband and wife team whose credits include 2004’s National Treasure and 2007’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Lisette Olivera (We Need to Do Something, Total Eclipse) stars as Jess Valenzuela, a young woman dedicated to solving the mystery of her family’s past. The cast also includes Zuri Reed (The Get Down, Flatbush Misdemeanors), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Wednesday, Queen America), Antonio Cipriano (Harlen Coben’s Shelter, City on a Hill), Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird, The Fosters) and Jake Austin Walker (Stargirl, Rectify). Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant) and Justin Bartha (Sorry for Your Loss, The Hangover), reprising their roles from the films, are also featured. National Treasure: Edge of History airs on Wednesdays on Disney+.
International: The second season of the Japanese science fiction drama Alice in Borderland debuted on Netflix on Dec. 22 and shot to the top of the platform’s viewership charts within days of its release. For the week of Dec 19-25, Alice in Borderland season 2 raked in an impressive 61.19 million hours in global viewership and earned the top spot on Netflix’s most watched non-English show viewership chart. The show’s first season also witnessed a significant uptick in engagement, landing at the number two spot on the same chart with 18.66 hours of global viewership. Both seasons consist of eight hour-long installments. The series has been likened to Netflix South Korean-produced smash hit Squid Game as well survival genre films like 2000’s Battle Royale and 1997’s Cube.
Alice in Borderland stars Kento Yamazaki (Orange, Heroine Disqualified) and Tao Tsuchiya (Orange, Kasane) as unlikely allies thrown together in a dystopian game of survival played out in an abandoned Tokyo. Shinsuke Sato (The Last Hero, The Princess Blade) directed the series which is based on the manga by Haro Aso. Both seasons of Alice in Borderland are available to stream on Netflix.
