Prime Video’s first trailer for the crime-thriller series “Countdown” landed Wednesday, placing Jensen Ackles at the center of a ticking-clock plot to avert a “Chernobyl-level” assault on Los Angeles. The streamer will release the opening three episodes on 25 June and shift to weekly drops through early September.
Ackles portrays LAPD detective Mark Meachum, recruited after the brazen daylight murder of a Homeland Security officer. Eric Dane plays task-force chief Nathan Blythe, while Jessica Camacho, Violett Beane, Uli Latukefu and Elliot Knight round out the unit’s diverse law-enforcement roster. Camacho’s Val Garcia specialises in explosives, and Beane’s Paige West serves as the team’s cyber-intelligence lead.
The 13-episode drama comes from creator-showrunner Derek Haas, known for Chicago Fire and FBI: International, and is produced by Amazon MGM Studios alongside his own banner. Haas exited NBCUniversal last year to sign a multi-year pact with Amazon, framing the series as his first streaming franchise starter. Industry writers at ScreenRant and CBR link the project to Amazon’s 2024-25 pivot towad longer procedural drama on Prime Video.
Ackles said in an April release-date statement that collaborating with Prime Video on The Boys “set the stage for an even bigger partnership,” adding that he “cannot wait to bring this story to life alongside Derek and our Countdown family.”
Amazon extended a rare 13-episode order—larger than the platform’s usual eight-to-ten episode template—which commentators view as part of the company’s drive for event procedurals with binge and broadcast potential. ScreenRant reports that principal photography wrapped in March after five months on location in Vancouver and Los Angeles, allowing an effects-heavy post-production schedule to run on time.
Fans online have highlighted Ackles sprinting across a moving car and quipping mid-pursuit, moments Entertainment Weekly compared to Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible stunts. Prime Video has yet to announce rollout dates for territories outside North America.
