What You Need to Know About the Jensen Ackles Action Series, Countdown

Monday night on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jensen Ackles made his Tonight Show debut to promote his new action-packed series, Countdown. During his appearance, he assured everybody that the show is a bit of a throwback. His new series is designed to give you the same nostalgic feel of movies and TV shows like Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and The A-Team. Here’s what you need to know about the Days of Our Lives alum’s Prime Video thriller.

The Countdown is Up

Here’s what you need to know about Prime Video’s Countdown:

Synopsis

When an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum, portrayed by Ackles, is recruited to a secret task force, alongside undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement, to investigate. But the hunt for the killer soon uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have imagined, kicking off a race against time to save a city of millions.

Where and When to Watch

Countdown starts streaming on Prime Video on Wednesday, June 25, when the first three episodes are released. One episode drops each subsequent week, with the finale streaming on Wednesday, September 3. So there will be 13 episodes in total.

The Cast

Jensen Ackles (The Boys, Supernatural), Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria), and Jessica Camacho (The Flash, Watchmen). The series also stars Violett Beane (Death and Other Details), Elliot Knight (The Boys), and Uli Latukefu (Young Rock).

Right off the bat, in episode one, look out for a pretty big cameo. And, later in the season, DAYS star Mary Beth Evans is set to make an appearance, according to TV Line. She will play the mother of one of the major characters.

Comparisons and Our Take on Countdown

TV Line describes Countdown as 24 meets Graceland, which is a fair assessment. On one hand, the energy is urgent, the stakes are high, and the action is intense and pulse-pounding, much like the late, great Fox drama 24.

If the high-octane action scenes filmed in Los Angeles don’t get you (don’t worry, they will), then there’s the team aspect that made USA Network’s Graceland such a fun show. Countdown’s Eric Dane-led task force brings a group of misfits, rebels, and insanely competent individuals together. Thankfully, the chemistry is there from the beginning, even though it’s more of a slow build.

What we’re always afraid of with ensemble casts is that one or more characters will get the short end of the drama stick. But here, you may have to be patient, but every individual is going through something, and their stories are told.

This includes Ackles’s character, Mark Meachum, an LAPD detective, who faces a lot of challenges that could and should make doing his job difficult. Yet he does it anyway. In the initial trailer for Countdown, Meachum states a mantra. of sorts, “If I’m going out, I’m going out saving something.” He has a lot going on, but none of that is going to get in the way of him bringing down the bad guys.