Countdown, What Do We Know So Far

“Countdown, what do we know so far,” is going to be as much a statement as it is a question.

For starters, it was a red-letter day for Countdown fans yesterday. The official trailer for season one dropped, and in the span of eighteen hours the watch count was up to 1.2M. I’m editing this piece and just checked again – the watch count is up to 1.7M.

We expected no less. Those numbers will keep climbing.

With some good listening skills, a little detective work, a wee bit of focused attention, and voila! We have an article summarizing all we know and all we want to know. Instead of repeating myself on things I’ve already written about, click the red text when you see it for deep dives. Otherwise, we can list the facts, offer some speculation and document any burning questions that pop up. Here we go!

The People and The Characters

For deep dives into this cast, click on the links:

• Derek Haas, Countdown and Jensen Ackles
• Jensen Ackles: The Action Star We’ve Been Waiting For
• Jensen Ackles Leading Man
• Eric Dane
• Jessica Camacho
• Derek Haas: The Birth of a New Brand
• Countdown’s Second Tier of Star Power

Great Photos

Story Development

Countdown Could Be Prime Video’s Next Big Hit

The log line for the show is this:

Countdown starts, following a suspicious murder in broad daylight, which leads to LAPD officer Mark Meachum being recruited to join a secret task force of undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement to investigate. But as the truth of a more sinister plot comes into focus, the team must overcome their conflicting personal agendas to unite and save a city of millions.

Derek Haas talked about how this story idea came to him while he was working on Chicago PD. Needing to dispense with a character, consulting officers explained that the best way would be for the officer to join a task force. In this world, task forces are all-star teams where elite officers go to work on particular missions.

➡️Action / Pace

• Derek Haas said that he loves it when heroes have a bounce in their step as opposed to the heavy “I’m-haunted-by-what-I’ve-seen” dark horses.
• He will, as a writer, touch on what is dark, but the pacing of this show will focus on high-octane action.
• He also shared that the backdrop for this show will be how these characters really come together as a team and bond.
• Haas gave us some breadcrumbs about a shocking twist that will come later in the season, “When they get to episode 10 of 13, they will see something they haven’t seen in the genre before.”
• Derek also promises that all of us will end up surprised at how involved we become, not only with our protagonists’ lives, but also the villain’s.
• We know that Grant Harvey, who has worked with Jensen Ackles on both Supernatural and Big Sky, will be showing up in episode 11 as a sniper.

➡️Drama

• The team is working to stop a weapon of mass destruction capable of inflicting catastrophic Chernobyl level damage and casualties. It doesn’t get more dramatic then that!
• It sounds like there will be lots of chemistry between the members of this task force with a real mix of drama and heart.
• All the members of the team have been described as “outliers” so when they come together, they see themselves in each other. Sounds like lots of character building and character bonding!
• Mark Meachum has been described as a rogue, wrong-side-of-the-tracks officer who takes risks other officers wouldn’t. There is undoubtedly some back-story here that will be so exciting to learn.
• We see from the trailer that Mark Meachum is in a shower scene, grimacing in pain. The question becomes, is this physical pain or emotional pain? And what is it’s origin?
• We also see him with meds. A pre-existing condition? Treatment for an injury? He isn’t happy about having to rely on this medication, so there is a very interesting story taking shape there.
• We also hear Meachum’s partner Oliveras saying that he is acting like he has a death wish. Has some tragic thing happened in his life to make him reckless, or is this just a part of his nature? Or does it tie in with the medical issue?

➡️Romance / Humor

• Derek Haas loves triangles and promises to deliver more than one. It will be exciting to see who is involved and how their connection elevates the stakes when officers working side-by-side are faced with threat and danger.
• I Love that we are going to see some of that “will-they-won’t-they” tension which is typically so much fun to watch.
• The trailer showed Meachum and Oliveras having some cheeky banter. We can see tension there. Like I said-so entertaining!
• Derek Haas admitted to laughing out loud at Jensen Ackles and ruining takes. Can’t wait to see the humor that is going to be laced through the show. Haas has also mentioned in previous interviews that he writes to his characters but also writes to his actors. When traits are visible in an actor, it makes the writing easier. We know Ackles is really funny, and so far, it looks like Jessica Camacho can do the straight-man role superbly.

Good Guys or Bad Guys

• Eric Dane talks to his task force with the quiet intensity he’s famous for and lays out the stakes. They need to prevent another potential 9/11 incident as a foreign player is planning a Chernobyl level event in LA. But then he says, “nobody can know what we are working on.” This intrigued me. Why? It’s obvious the task force will be working undercover. Is it the standard clandestine work that needs to be done to avoid mass hysteria? Or do they also need to work in stealth because there are corrupt elements within their law enforcement ranks? Are some of the good guys actually the bad guys?
• We hear Amber say “They don’t play by a rule book. Why should we? Who is “they?” Is it internal law enforcement personal who are breaking protocol and rules, or are we talking about the foreign threat? And we hear Mark say “I will play this however you want to play it. Whatever the consequences.” Is this in response to Amber?

A Little Technical

• On the technical side of things, Ackles talked about the weapons training they did at the same facility used for training Keanu Reeves for his John Wick movies.
• It also sounded like it was “back to school” working with consultants to learn all the police jargon, police procedure and acronyms.
• Jensen Ackles also mentioned that there is a lot of hand-held camera work which shows lots of action, energy and pushes the momentum of each episode.

Behind The Scenes

• The only thing we know for sure, without any fleshed-out stories to go on (or blooper reels, and I sure hope we get some) is all the sharing on socials between the crew working on this show.
• It sounds like it was an incredible experience for everyone. They have talked about how great it was to work together and that the cast and crew were a joy to be with. It sounds like everyone has their fingers crossed for a Season 2.
• This is really special.

The Trailer

Some Fan Questions

In Closing

The Premiere is June 25th on Prime Video. The first three episodes will drop June 25th, with subsequent episodes being made available weekly.

CALL TO ACTION FOR ALL FANS… Leave comments so everyone on and off the show can see them, and I will add them to the list. Thanks for all your support!

Amazon Content Services/Overlay Fan Art: Gail Langdon

Links

• Derek Haas, Countdown and Jensen Ackles
• Jensen Ackles: The Action Star We’ve Been Waiting For
• Jensen Ackles Leading Man
• Eric Dane
• Jessica Camacho
• Derek Haas: The Birth of a New Brand
• Countdown’s Second Tier of Star Power
• Prime Video Countdown Season One Trailer
• Men’s Health Magazine Exclusive
• Article: EW.com Entertainment Summer Preview Exclusive
• Podcast Interview: Brett Gursky Interview of Grant Harvey