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

Countdown Showrunner Haas Has Answers: Cameos, Mark's Pendant & More

As promised, Countdown Showrunner Derek Haas answered five of YOUR questions: Mark's pendant, Jensen Ackles's stunt work, cameos, and more.

Showrunner Derek Haas promised that he would answer five questions about his and Prime Video's Jensen Ackles (The Boys, Supernatural)—starring Countdown, and that promise was kept earlier today. From the mystery behind Mark's pendant and Ackles's prison fight scene to a heads-up about another cameo on the way, the possibility of a gag reel seeing the light of day, and more, here's a look at what Haas had to share:

What was on Mark's Pendant in the Episode 3 bathroom scene? "Great question. I would love to say I know… but sometimes the cast picks things they like for their character… type of watch or ring, firearm, etc., and I like to incorporate what they choose. I'll ask and get back to you."

How much was Ackles and how much was the stunt double during the prison fight scene? "Mark's fight was on the first day of filming. It was 114 degrees. It was probably 85 percent Jensen and 15 percent stunt double. It's hard to keep Jensen from doing his own fights/stunts."

BONUS: How was Milo Ventimiglia's appearance kept a secret? "I told everyone "shhhhhhh" and gave them the death stare."

How did they determine the right number of characters to have on the task force? "A task force has no minimums nor limits, so I thought it would be cool to contract or expand the team as the case progresses. Seven seemed like the right number to launch because that's a lucky number. (Except in the case of episode 7… for some characters.)"

Any more cameos on the way? "There's a cameo of Craig Mazin, who created 'The Last of Us.' Tell me when you spot him!"

Will fans get a behind-the-scenes gag reel from filming? "There is one that the post team put together for our wrap party and it is hilarious. It has spoilers so would have to come out after the series airs. Maybe we can make that happen!"

Countdown: Derek Haas, Jensen Ackles on Getting Milo Ventimiglia

"We purposefully left him out of all the ads and the promo," Haas shared about locking down Ventimiglia. "And then he was great." Ackles added, "Derek [Haas] came to me and threw out a couple of names, and Milo [Ventimiglia] was one of them, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, get Milo." Initially, another actor was set for the opening, but Haas had the idea of really throwing viewers for a loop right out of the gate – though he didn't have the highest hopes in landing Ventimiglia. "I felt like he was doing us a favor," Haas said, noting that a different actor was set for the opening sequence. "I didn't know him, but I was delighted when he said he wanted to meet about it, and I thought, 'There's no way he's going to do this.' And then he was like, 'I think this would be really cool.' I don't think he's ever done something like that before."

The opener proved to be a jolt to the system for the viewers and a very effective in-your-face way of pulling us into the action and intrigue right from the jump. "I spoke to him [Ventimiglia] after I saw it. I was like, 'Sequence looks amazing, you crushed it, you've got to be sore, that was a lot of running," Ackles shared with a laugh. "We're not as young as we used to be." For Haas, the toughest critic of his decision to hire Ventimiglia and kill off the beloved actor so quickly hit close to home. "My mom's mad at me: 'How could you kill Jack from 'This Is Us'?'" Haas added.

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).

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