Plot: When an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum 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.
Review: There are many action and legal procedural series, ranging from Law & Order and NCIS to CSI and every other acronym you can think of. These series follow a prescriptive formula with the good guys chasing the villain and saving the day, usually in an episodic format. Kiefer Sutherland upended that formula with FOX’s long-running 24, which turned the action procedural into a serial narrative that had audiences glued for chapter after weekly chapter. Derek Haas, co-creator of NBC’s Chicago franchise of shows, aims to shift expectations of the tried and true police drama series, coupled with the action-heavy approach of 24, in the new show Countdown. Led by Jensen Ackles and Eric Dane, Countdown is equal parts 24 and The A-Team and takes the serial narrative approach but plays with what long-form storytelling can do in a thirteen-episode series.
While it may not be the most original concept, Countdown benefits from playing with convention by not focusing on a single lead hero like we had with Jack Bauer, but instead embraces the team dynamic that made The A-Team so much fun to watch in the 1980s. Countdown brings together a task force of characters from different agencies and backgrounds to confront a threat to Los Angeles that could have long-term implications for the entire world. Led by veteran soldier and task force leader Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane), a ragtag team of outcasts is pulled together when the death of a Homeland Security agent opens up a conspiracy that must be dealt with in a limited amount of time. Blythe brings in DEA agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho) who immediately butts heads with LAPD renegade Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles). Meachum’s LAPD colleague Lucas Finau (Uli Latukefu) joins the team along with tech expert Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane) and Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight). The six make for a great team, but they must first contend with infighting and lacking trust for various reasons.
Countdown does not waste any time with the formalities as the first episode opens with a shocking sequence, and the next thing we know, the task force is assembled and investigating. The team gets to know each other while out in the field, pairing off in combinations that provide ample opportunities for the ensemble to shine in various ways. Jensen Ackles is easily the most recognizable cast member in this series alongside Eric Dane, but the two are given equal screen time with the rest of the cast. Jessica Camacho, best known from her roles on Sleepy Hollow and The CW’s The Flash, is a strong balance to Ackles’ smartass comments, while Violett Beane, also from The CW’s The Flash and Blumhouse’s Drop, defies the cliches of the tech whiz and manages some great scenes in the field. Uli Latukefu, who starred as college-aged Dwayne Johnson in Young Rock, has the charisma of the former WWE star and enough presence to have led a series like this on his own. Elliot Knight is also an excellent team member, with each character supporting the rest of the ensemble while getting enough development for their backstories within the larger narrative of Countdown.
Countdown struggles with two of the most significant elements needed in a series of this scale: the villains and the pacing. Countdown starts strong and barely pauses long enough for the audience to catch their breath. However, this also means exposition takes the form of clunky dialogue delivered during action sequences and tense moments. The villain in the series’ first arc is also one of the most overused tropes of the genre. Any time a Mission: Impossible or 24 engages a villain with a god complex or seeking revenge for being mistreated by global powers competing with one another, it turns what is meant to be an emotionally resonant rationale into something we have seen many times before. In the case of Countdown, the excessive and repetitive use of the good guys foiling the bad guys only to be presented by another obstacle that leads to a cliffhanger before getting resolved in the next episode, and then repeating the same pattern gets old quickly. While the task force is populated by entertaining and interesting characters whom we do get to know and like, they are stuck in a cycle of rote storytelling that they struggle to break free from.
Derek Hass scripted all thirteen episodes of Countdown‘s first season, ten of which were available for this review. The season is directed by a team that includes Jonathan Brown, Lisa Robinson, Avi Youabian, Chris Grismer, Rashidi Natara Harper, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Tess Malone, and Eric Stoltz. Hass is a workhorse for television series, having written over six hundred hours of television over the last decade, including over two hundred hours each of Chicago Fire, P.D., and Med. Hass has the conventions of procedural series down pat, but has not written anything like Countdown. He makes a concerted effort to upend the expected formula of one season, one mission, but it is done in a way I had not seen coming. Series like this are contingent on the heroes winning by the season finale or a cliffhanger setting up where things will go the following year, but Hass keeps you guessing. When you get to the moment I am alluding to, it will make you wonder where this series could go in seasons to come. The direction makes good use of the California shooting locations and is slightly more intense than Hass’ prior projects, thanks to being on Prime Video, but it still feels a bit too familiar.
Countdown works as a summer television series with the same bluster, action, and roller coaster feel of a big screen blockbuster. It is a fun series to watch and will not be mistaken for high art or the type of marquee programming that makes top ten lists and wins Emmys. Countdown is not as polished or intelligent as the series that wins the acclaim and trophies, but that does not stop it from being a fun diversion. Because of how fun Jensen Ackles and Eric Dane are and the fantastic ensemble around them, this series feels like a twenty-first-century take on The A-Team without the pulpy humor. Countdown is fun, fast, and largely familiar, but with just the right tweaks to keep you watching from episode to episode.
Countdown premieres with three episodes on June 25th on Prime Video.
