Variety is reporting that CBS drama pilot The Equalizer has landed Orange Is the New Black alum Lorraine Toussaint.
Based on the 1985-89 CBS series starring Edward Woodward, with Andrew Marlowe and Terri Miller (Castle) developing, The Equalizer follows Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah), an enigmatic divorcee who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.
Toussaint is set as Robyn’s wise Aunt Frieda (aka “Aunty Fry”), a known truth-teller who tends to be a wary optimist. She’s the one person Robyn can lean on for true and unconditional support.
The Equalizer is one of several dramas in contention for CBS right now, joining Silent of the Lambs sequel Clarice, which has a series commitment but will still shoot a pilot; medical drama Good Sam; The Lincoln Lawyer, based on the novel series from Michael Connelly; cop drama Out the Door; and Ways & Means, a political drama centering on two members of Congress from opposite sides of the aisle who work together to overcome the legislative gridlock that defines the American political system.
In addition to her role on the Netflix dramedy, Toussaint’s television credits include Into the Badlands, The Village, and The Fosters. She joins a cast that also includes Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23‘s Liza Lapira.