Wanna make sure audiences know right off the bat that the stakes are astronomically high for your protagonists? Why not compare the plot they’re trying to foil to two of the most notable mass casualty events in history. In Countdown, a team led by Eric Dane (Euphoria) and Jensen Ackles (The Boys) is recruited to avert an incident described as being on the level of both 9/11 and Chernobyl—and that’s just in the show’s first, less-than-two-minute-long trailer. Who knows how dramatic the allusions could become as the series goes on.
To give credit, the adrenaline-pumping nature of the trailer almost stands up to the Herculean task it’s given itself. Ackles proves once again that he’s in another league when it comes to sarcastic one liners and quippy comebacks—so much so that one might believe the “bomb that when off in our face last night” he mentions in the first few seconds is a euphemism… until a bomb literally goes off in his face in what’s presumably a flashback to the night before.
If you can tear your eyes away from all the explosions and noble, dumb stunts from Ackles’ character, here’s an official plot description from Prime Video: “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.”
In addition to Ackles and Dane, Countdown also stars Jessica Camacho, Violett Beane, Uli Latukefu, and Ackles’ The Boys co-star, Elliot Knight. The first three episodes will premiere June 25 on Prime Video, with following episodes dropping weekly on Wednesdays.