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

Countdown Showrunner Q&A: Mark's Health, Season 2 Decision & More

Countdown Showrunner Derek Haas on if Meachum and Oliversas will ever be on a first-name basis, Season 2 decision-making, and much more.

As if there weren't already a ton of reasons why Prime Video should green-light a second season of Jensen Ackles (The Boys, Supernatural)—starring Countdown, the decision made by Showrunner Derek Haas to wrap up the major case, bring Meachum's (Ackles) health issues to light, drop a ten-month time jump, and begin laying the foundations for the next case (and hopefully a new season) should be the clincher. It broke the television season mold in a way that allows the series to stand out and show its willingness to shake things up. With that in mind, Haas is back to tackle your topics – including the chances of time jump flashbacks and if Meachum and Oliversas (Jessica Camacho) will ever start using each other's first names. In addition, Haas addresses what's holding up a decision on Season 2, the meaning behind the name "Darden," and where Meachum's health is at after the time jump.

(1) Will we get any flashbacks this season to the ten-month time jump for glimpses at what went down?

"While we will learn about some things that happened in those ten months circumstantially, there aren't any flashbacks to that time. (All bets are off if we get a season 2.)"

(2) Will Meachum and Oliveras ever call each other by their first names?

"That's a great question. It's definitely a law enforcement habit to call your partner by his or her surname. Maybe they'll break that habit someday."

(3) Considering how well the series has been doing, what's holding up a decision on a second season?

"Fortunately, I only have to worry about making shows and not how the super high-ups make their scheduling decisions. They have to juggle a ton of strategies and relationships and data and experience and sometimes old-fashioned risk-taking… they're smart people… I stay out of it!"

(4) Is there a secret meaning to Haas using the name "Darden" in his projects? 

"Yes, I went to Baylor U in Waco, Texas back in the day and my old screenwriting professor is Bob Darden. In everything I've written… movies, TV… Darden is always the first to go… but as an inside joke because I love Bob!"

(5) Are Meachum's pain and symptoms gone for good now?

"I don't think it's ever going to be gone-gone. The threat is there that the symptoms could return. I'm just grateful that he was able to get into this program and I'm energized by the results."

BONUS: Favorite Episode 10 moment:

Bonus.

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— Derek Haas (@derekhaaswriter.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 10:48 AM

Countdown Star Jessica Camacho on Jensen Ackles & THAT Porch Scene

Once again, the show continues to throw some big surprises at us – including Meachum's health situation being revealed to the team and the team offering him their support before he heads off for treatment. One scene that stood out for many viewers in terms of its quiet, raw emotion was the moment when Meachum and Oliveras were together on the porch, with Meachum quietly reaching out his hand for her to take. Speaking with Collider, Camacho revealed that Meachum reaching out and Oliveras taking his hand was an idea that originated with Ackles. "That was all Jensen Ackles. I hate to admit it. I wish it was my idea. It was all Jensen Ackles. He strikes again. He has so many good ideas. This man comes in, as we all do, ready to play, in service of the story," Camacho shared.

"When we have scenes like that, that are a little quieter and a little more intimate, that carry emotional weight and have real emotional risk, with two characters learning how to get vulnerable, which is not their strong suit, it's very new and uncomfortable. We would always talk about it and be like, 'How are you feeling? What do you feel this needs? Is it more of this and less of that?' It was in service of whatever would tell the truth. That man does not play. I can't remember if he told me he was going to do it or if he just did it, but he did it, and I was like, 'This is right.' It was so beautiful. I think I cried." The Countdown star added, "Afterwards, I was like, 'This is so beautiful.' It really is this beautiful moment between these characters that have this very complicated dynamic. It said a lot without saying a lot."

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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