There’s a lot of attention around the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series Countdown. The crime drama stars Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys) as LAPD detective Mark Meachum as well as Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria) as Nathan Blythe, a task leader who puts together an elite team to investigate a crime. There’s also Jessica Camacho (Sleepy Hollow, All Rise, The Flash) and Violett Beane (The Flash, Death and Other Details) counted among the main cast.
The series premieres its first three episodes on June 25, 2025 followed by a new episode weekly for a total of 13 through September 3, 2025. Created by Derek Haas, the man behind Chicago Fire and its spin-offs Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, many initially viewed the series as a potential next Jack Ryan or Reacher for the streamer. But it’s much different and more comparable to other shows you may have either loved or didn’t.
Note: This review is based on the first 10 episodes of Countdown.
What is Countdown About?
Countdown is a crime drama with Mark Meachum (Ackles) as the central character. He’s an LAPD detective who is called in when a Department of Homeland Security officer is murdered in plain sight. Working with undercover agents, his job is to track down the killer. But as they bob and weave through the investigation, they uncover a dark conspiracy that’s about much more than one government worker’s death. There’s a plot that puts millions of lives in danger.
Nathan Blythe (Dane) puts together an elite team of law enforcement individuals, each with a special set of skills, to work on the underground project with him. Each of their skills plays into how they can help navigate the treacherous waters.
Countdown Review
Countdown is a cookie cutter crime drama, giving shows like The Night Agent a run for their money when it comes to high-octane, intense action scenes. But you might also compare it to series like Zero Day or Cross in its tone and pacing. While many have predicted the show could be the next Reacher or Jack Ryan, both also coincidentally streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Countdown is more like The Umbrella Academy; you might even liken it to The Avengers in that the focus is on an elite team of troublemakers, not a single person (albeit ones with special skills not actual superpowers). Ackles is a clear focal point within the team, but he shares equal screen time and plot points with others.
Each member of the team is brought in because of their prowess in a specific area, so you get a nice combination of in-the-field action and in the office computer hacking a la Jack Bauer and Chloe O’Brian in 24. They’re also, in a way, the rebels of their respective departments,the misfits that do great work but don’t always play by the rules. There’s conflict, personal drama, and skeletons that unravel as you get to know each character more.
If you love action, there are also plenty of exciting scenes involving car and on-foot chases, elaborate undercover operations, and dangerous dealings, likened to ones you might traditionally see in movies. In fact, the show kicks off with an epic scene that will remind you of the opening scene in The Night Agent season two. Light comedic moments are a welcome reprieve to help break up the tension.
The plot evolves at a too-rapid pace in the beginning as the team brings in suspect after suspect with little for viewers to go on to understand who these people are and where the investigation is going. Wait, who was that guy again? What was the piece of information I missed? It all comes into focus eventually, but the writing is disjointed from the jump.
Each of the main team members gets their time to shine, a good thing since the cast is wonderful. This also includes Uli Latukefu (Young Rock) as Lucas Finau and Elliot Knight (Titans) as Keyonte Bell. Dane is the cool, calm, collected leader with a subdued confidence who manages the team like his misfit group of kids. He refuses to let anyone stand in their way, including district attorney Grayson Valwell (Merrick McCartha) who is desperate to get in on the plan and know what’s going on.
There are other personal tidbits about certain characters, including Meachum, that add another layer to the story and help you get better involved with their individual stories, not just the actual case. Knight as Keyonte, Latukefu as Lucas, and Beane as Evan Shepherd have a quiet presence about them that make you want to learn more about their backstories. The chemistry among the main five within this elite team, alongside Dane as their fearless leader, makes you want to root for them to succeed, and maybe see them go enjoy an epic night out at a local bar once they’re done. Oh, the stories they could all tell.
Countdown is trying to be the next big crime drama, but it doesn’t quite get there. The show goes through ups and downs, starting on a high, becoming slightly boring not to mention confusing as the plot shifts ahead far too quickly, then picking back up again as the intensity builds. Interestingly, in one scene, Blythe tells his team that every investigation ebbs and flows. That’s a fitting description of the show itself.
The series is entertaining even if it features a story that has been told time and time again. It’s a carbon copy of shows, even movies, you’ve watched, swapping in new actors and a slightly refined conspiracy, a bad guy, a team trying to do their job, and others constantly getting in the way. It has elements of danger, close calls, incredible action sequences, and lighter moments of calm that let you get to know the people behind the fists and guns.
Countdown accomplishes its goal of entertaining, especially with some of the more impressive fight and chase scenes. The series might not become the next The Night Agent-esque guilty pleasure. But it’s one you’ll enjoy watching.
Should You Watch Countdown
The main reason to watch Countdown is for Ackles and Dane, both of whom knock their roles out of the park. Ackles plays his usual rebellious, loner-type with a smart mouth and Dane the personification of a do-gooder leader who never loses his cool, even during the most high-pressure situations. The rest of the cast who make up the Avengers-like team are just as engaging to watch, but there’s no denying these two actors steal every scene they’re in.
The writing is predictable, making this show more so like a drawn-out episode of a show like The Blacklist then a compelling 13-episode crime drama. That’s not a bad thing. It’s blazingly obvious that creator Derek Haas has mostly worked within those types of procedural spaces. Countdown is an extension of that mixed with sprinklings of an action movie.
Bottom line: the series is alright, but it’s nothing that will have you clamouring for a second season or sitting at the edge of your seat for the next week’s episode, but for a few cliffhanger endings. The acting is much better than The Night Agent, the story far more believable, despite some of the also outlandish plot points. It might not strike the same chord, but if you’re a fan of Ackles and/or Dane, it’s another example of why they’re both two sought-after actors today.