Countdown, Prime Video's newest original series, premiered on June 25, 2025, and is set in Los Angeles without any moments that take the viewer outside the street surfaces of Los Angeles. This high-stakes thriller stars Jensen Ackles and Eric Dane as federal agents trying to thwart a hold on a monumental terrorist threat looming over the city that could result in a catastrophic event.
The series (that is actually good) embraces its Los Angeles location, bringing in real locations city-wide from the Port of Long Beach to Koreatown to Reseda. The only parameter the team had during prep was to shoot in real neighborhoods, and they felt if they were going to shoot in Los Angeles, they might as well make it feel like it was part of the story.
The reason the team went real neighborhood was to give the series a realistic and more grounded feel.
Neither Ackles, who is the lead agent Mark Meachum, nor the cast of talented actors, are completely unfamiliar with the city, as Ackles has lived there for almost 20 years.
Filming on streets where they had walked thousands of times gave him a unique energy that he tapped into. In an even more honest performance, Ackles explained he was not only racing to avert a disaster, Meachum himself was mentally and physically racing against time due to a serious health issue.
Meachum, unbeknownst to most, is dealing with a terminal brain tumor, a massive wrinkle in a countdown narrative.
Jessica Camacho, who plays his partner Amber Oliveras, also examines the emotional layers behind the story. Oliveras' character is also dealing with some heavy personal issues, including increasing dependence with addiction implications.
Personal arcs are built into the narrative of the series to give it some emotional depth.
Despite a great cast and a strong setup, the early reviews of the show have been mixed so far.
Critics Say Action Falls Flat, Characters Lack Depth
Despite being designed for a tense thriller, with all elements of explosions, hidden motives, and plenty of time to time, outlets like Variety and Tom's Guide sayCountdown is not as uncomfortable as it’s supposed to be.
The initial episode or two is decidedly directed and contemplated but with writers going deep on pacing, the episodic view doesn't seem to reward the commitment to schedule and ease. Some writers have written that the project gets “repetitious,”- going through the same motions (pun intended?), and the action what action the show has welcome was not only predictable but has elements that feel recycled.
Of course, the main antagonist in the project is a self-proclaimed Belarusian arms dealer- and because of all of this, see this insane reviewer about the guy- he said, “believe it or not, I didn’t find much original or a hint of a scary quirk based on their characters.”
Regardless of the harsh critique the show and team have received, there are still very good performances from the leading actors that deserve some commendation.
Ackles brings out intensity to his angry character and additional health scare gives the character’s actions and decisions a personal consequence beyond the other threats in the storyline, and Camacho's observation of Oliveras does provide a grounded complexity counterbalance to a possible action-out action scenes was fun too!
A major twist at the end of Episode 3 occurs when a key supporting character suffers serious injuries during a sting gone wrong. While this cliffhanger is intended to build tension, some critics wonder if it will be enough to keep viewers interested if the plot does not develop in subsequent episodes.
The creative team behind Countdown hoped that the real-world environment plus emotional character arcs would offer something fresh. While I see the effort to present Los Angeles as something other than a backdrop, the storytelling may need to go further to break through the clutter of action-thrillers.
Ultimately, viewers will decide whether the mixture of personal drama and large-scale peril is enough to keep their attention as the season unfolds.
Source(Image / Thumbnail): variety.com
