Amazon’s ‘Countdown’ Is Only The Jensen Ackles Show, And That’s Okay For His Jacklytes

Milo Ventimiglia’s Robert Darden, a Department of Homeland Security officer, dies in the opening scene of Prime Video’s Countdown.

It’s an event that triggers the creation of a new task force team to investigate Darden’s death and leads to a bigger web of conspiracy that stretches out further than anyone could imagine. Mild spoilers for Countdown follow.

Yeah, it’s also the plot for The Night Agent and every other crime drama on television. Yet, showrunner Derek Haas – who’s the brains behind the Chicago franchise – knows exactly what he’s doing with this show. Every episode feeds you a spoonful of new information, but it leaves the audience hanging on a thread, wanting to know the full story – even if the plot features more holes than a block of Swiss cheese.

Leave your brain at the door

Countdown relies on the audience suspending their disbelief for large stretches of time, because it gets ridiculous. Let’s look at how the task force finds out the identity of Darden’s shooter, for example, since it isn’t really a spoiler, as the audience sees the man right out of the gate. The assassin stays out of the sight of the street’s various cameras, but boy, is he unlucky that day, because at that specific time, a truck carrying a glass mirror drives by and the team is able to catch his clear reflection on camera as he shoots Darden. What are the chances of that happening, huh?

This is only one instance of Countdown‘s various deus ex machina moments at play. Conveniently, the characters step into numerous situations that they miraculously overcome and try to convince the audience it was all part of the plan, when it obviously wasn’t. The story’s logic also fails to hold up, as basic detective work could have solved this bigger mystery that they’re only discovering now and having their mind blown about what’s been happening all this time. Are the police officers in this universe sipping coffee and cramming doughnuts into their pie holes all day or what? Because the baddies in this series aren’t even Einstein and get away with a lot in broad daylight.

This is all about Jensen Ackles

Countdown is all about teamwork, as Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane) puts together a crew of misfits and gets them to work together as a group for the greater good. “What, we some kinda… Suicide Squad?” Bingo. There’s the regular (and forced) dynamic of Jensen Ackles’ Mark Meachum and Jessica Camacho’s Amber Oliveras not liking each other at first but growing closer as the series progresses, while no one takes the nerdy but brilliant Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane) too seriously – when she’s probably the only competent one in the team. It’s literally the same setup as every team-up show where the characters need to learn there is no “I” in team, blah, blah…

To be dead honest, though, none of these characters leave an impression except for Mark Meachum. Front and center of every poster, Jensen Ackles is Countdown. His character is the interesting one in the series, with a narrative twist that makes Meachum worth keeping an eye on, while everyone else is noise in the background. Even though Derek Haas attempts to give each character their own mini arcs and significant moments of development, this entire show is catnip for the Ackles fanbase, aka the Jacklytes. And yeah, Ackles carries the show well. In fact, he helps to hide many of its flaws, making it a heck of an entertaining time – just as long as you don’t poke the plot too much or it might crumble.

That said, it’s disappointing to see an actor like Beane relegated to a nothing part here. She starred in 2024’s highly underrated series Death and Other Details, while she put in terrific performances in Renner and Drop recently. It’s time for her to be leading or co-leading something major, rather than serving as the geeky but lovable comic relief of a show. Beane deserves better.

‘Countdown’ shares a certain trait with another famous show

Will Countdown find its way into anyone’s favorite shows of 2025? Probably not. However, there’s an addictive quality to it that’s reminiscent of another show that Jensen Ackles often pops up in: Tracker. As such, don’t be surprised to see multiple seasons of this series be ordered if enough people tune in here. It’s not fantastic TV by any means, but it’s reliable-enough entertainment for those who need a distraction.