Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: countdown, Jensen Ackles, the boys

Countdown: Prime Video Gives Jensen Ackles Series "The Boys" Treatment

Prime Video is giving Showrunner Derek Haas's Jensen Ackles (Supernatural)-starring Countdown "The Boys" treatment - and that's a good thing.

Based on the reactions we've received to our coverage so far, to say there's a lot of excitement surrounding the three-episode premiere of Prime Video and Showrunner/EP Derek Haas's (NBC's "Chicago" franchise) Jensen Ackles (The Boys, Supernatural)-starring Countdown would be a severe understatement. With a little more than a month to go, there are a whole lot of radars out there searching for the first word on an official trailer drop. Before that happens, we wanted to pass along something that Prime Video did, which is definitely a show of faith in the upcoming series. And interestingly enough, it has to do with Ackles' other Prime Video series, The Boys.

During the first season of Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys, Prime Video released all eight episodes as a binge drop. While the show was a hit, Kripke felt that the series could reach a wider audience and become a "watercooler" series if there was a staggered (or weekly) release. After convincing the steamer, the second season began what would be the show's winning system: drops multiple episodes upfront to build up the buzz, and then goes weekly for the remaining episodes to keep the conversation going. Sound familiar?

It's not that Prime Video doesn't still do season drops, but the streamer tends to be more on a case-by-case basis. In general, if you're a series that's getting a release like The Boys received early on and Countdown is getting right from the jump, that's a sign that Prime Video has faith in you being able to build an audience. Personally, we've always felt that binge-dropping goes against everything that makes watching television great. Who doesn't love the between-episodes previews and speculation? If you're late to a series, it gives you time to catch up. Most importantly, it provides a chance for the shows to breathe and establish themselves.

Countdown: A Look at Prime Video's Jensen Ackles-Starring Series

When an officer with the Department of Homeland Security is murdered in broad daylight, LAPD detective Mark Meachum (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. Ackles's Mark Meachum is described as a rogue L.A. detective, wrong-side-of-the-tracks kind of guy who takes risks that most people wouldn't take. That could make things difficult when Meachum finds himself part of an elite team that also includes Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane), Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho), Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight), Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane), and Lucas Finau (Uli Latukefu).

Speaking exclusively this week with EW, Haas noted that the show's drama won't just be about big action scenes, with Meachum involved in some romantic entanglements. "It's not going to be just one," Haas added about the potential romantic dynamics at play. "I love the triangle. It's my favorite shape. And we're going to have a few of those." In addition, Ackles discussed what it was like working with the ensemble cast, how Supernatural fans might find similarities between Meachum and Dean Winchester, and how the series made him feel a bit like Tom Cruise:

Ackles on Working with the "Countdown" Cast: "It's like every ingredient for a perfect dish. Everybody blends well together. Everybody's so giving and happy to do whatever it takes for the team."

Ackles on Fans Finding Similarities Between Mark Meachum & Dean Winchester: "There's probably going to be some familiarity from that fandom with this guy. It's not like I'm going so opposite spectrum with this character. He's going to be a familiar taste, which is good. I like doing that. I mean, I played Dean for 15 years. I loved playing that kind of a character. And I think this guy is in the vein of that, just with a completely different set of circumstances."

Ackles on Getting "Getting My Tom Cruise On" with "Countdown": "I actually just did some ADR the other day for an action sequence. I was watching it and I was like, 'Oh, I'm getting my Tom Cruise on here. This is some full-on action stuff.'"

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