Prime Video’s Countdown is Derek Haas’ first TV project since stepping down from Chicago Fire and FBI: International, which immediately should put it on viewers’ radar. And with Supernatural star Jensen Ackles in the lead, this conspiracy thriller is completely different from a network procedural—which is one of the many reasons it’s so entertaining.

Haas will always be known and loved for co-creating Chicago Fire with Michael Brandt, thus launching the One Chicago franchise that continues to be a juggernaut for NBC. But he’s also an author who’s written multiple spy thrillers, so Countdown feels like he’s spreading his wings.

The casting has a similar vibe of actors getting back to what they’ve done very well before. Audiences won’t be surprised to see Ackles involved in so much action, but his two co-stars have their own chops. Eric Dane is now more known for Euphoria, but before that spent years leading TNT’s military drama The Last Ship. It’s also very wonderful to see Jessica Camacho follow up her Bosch: Legacy guest stint and her years on All Rise with another action role, after her time on NBC’s small-screen version of Taken.

These are actors willing to go through the wringer, which is a great combination since anyone who ever watched Chicago Fire knows that Haas loves to put his characters to the test. He spent over a decade coming up with high-temperature, high-stakes situations. The main cast is rounded out by Elliot Knight, Violett Beane and Uli Latukefu, and the latter two are playing roles completely different from the work they did on The Flash and Young Rock respectively. The mix of stars who have action backgrounds and those who don’t keeps Countdown feeling fresh.

There are core leads whom the audience can expect to see huge things from, and then their co-stars who catch the audience by surprise. The decision to launch the series with three episodes allows viewers to be drawn in by the former, and get to know the latter. Supernatural fans who show up for Ackles will stick around not only for him, but to see what Camacho or Knight or Latukefu are going to do.

If anything, it’s the characters who need to catch up. Ackles’ character Mark Meachum falls easily into the “smart-mouthed rogue cop” stereotype, and his banter with Camacho’s Amber Oliveras clearly telegraphs an obligatory romantic tension subplot between the two. On the flip side, Dane’s task force leader Nathan Blythe is much better used than the “boss” character on any other show (which isn’t a shock given how well Haas utilized Eamonn Walker on Chicago Fire). It takes a while to build character depth because such emphasis is put on the mystery and action elements in the beginning.

There are some components that will feel familiar to savvy TV viewers. The idea of a multi-agency task force put together to solve a bigger problem has been done on a few shows, such as TNT’s short-lived and underrated crime drama Wanted from 2005. And the first sequence, meant to shock viewers out of the gate, is quite similar to the approach Prime Video’s impressive On Call took with its opening. Countdown also suffers from a common TV affliction: needing to fill any period of silence with unnecessary music.

But in not having to write within the network procedural format, Haas and his creative team can leave a few more things open-ended and take a few more risks. Countdown thrives on being action-packed fun with a cast that never quits. Once the exposition is out of the way, the show moves at a fairly steady pace and the actors are able to hold the viewers’ attention through the breaks in the action. This is the perfect summer series, and the fact that it’s streaming on Wednesdays—the days when audiences got used to watching a Derek Haas show—is the icing on the cake. Prime Video viewers will not regret getting on this thrill ride.

Countdown premieres Wednesday, June 25 on Prime Video with a three-episode premiere, followed by subsequent episodes streaming Wednesdays. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.