Countdown to more Ackles!
Finally, we have found out what Jensen’s next leading role will be - Countdown a new, 13-episode Prime Video series created by Derek Haas for Jensen and produced by Amazon MGM Studios. Jensen is also listed as an Executive Producer on the show.
From the official press release:
Countdown starts after a suspicious murder in broad daylight, which leads to LAPD officer Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles) being recruited to join a secret task force of undercover agents from all branches of law enforcement to investigate. As the truth of a more sinister plot comes into focus, the team must overcome their conflicting personal agendas to unite and save a city of millions.
It was in April 2023 that it was announced that Jensen, Danneel and their company Chaos Machine had signed a first look deal with Amazon, covering both acting and producing projects. Since then, we have been thirsty for news of what Jensen’s first big project with the streamer would be.
· IG post from Jensen on the news
· Tweet from Jensen "Can’t wait to get going on this. Gonna be a ride! 😎"
· Jensen Ackles to Star in Amazon Thriller Series ‘Countdown’ From Derek Haas by Variety
· Jensen Ackles To Headline ‘Countdown’ Drama Series Ordered By Amazon From Derek Haas by Deadline
Countdown was developed as a project for Jensen by fellow Texan Derek Haas, who is also under a deal with Amazon. Haas co-created and was the showrunner for the very popular Chicago Fire and is executive producer on its three spinoffs and is the executive producer of FBI and its spin-off FBI: International. He is also a screenwriter of note with films to his credit including 2Fast2Furious and 3:10 to Yuma. I know the latter is a Western that Jensen said he really enjoyed when it came out in 2010. Haas is also the author of The Silver Bear book series, which centers on “the world’s deadliest hitman.”
The action genre is having a big moment right now with shows like Reacher and Jack Ryan (Amazon), The Night Agent and the Extraction movies (Netflix) and Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount +) drawing big audiences. Maybe topping them all is Tracker on which Jensen recently guest starred. The show topped non-sports viewership for CBS, Paramount+ and broadcast television.
Tracker stars Justin Hartley as a man who travels across the US in an Airstream with a big bag of daddy issues, making money by finding missing people (or sometimes objects and on one occasion a horse!) and collecting the reward money. He has a rag tag team of helpers who he is rarely in the same room as, except for the lawyer who is hot for him. The series is primarily a case of the week episodic format, with an ongoing thread about the mystery of Colter's family. People still love a good old-fashioned procedural!
It has been announced that Jensen will return in Season 2 next year for an unspecified number of episodes. If you want a quick primer on the show, check out the Tracker entry on the SuperWiki, and also find out about all the Supernatural Easter Eggs in Jensen’s episode.
Not much else is known about Countdown as yet. The only other cast member announced so far is Jessica Comacho who will play Special DEA agent Amber Oliveras. Her character is described as:
14 years on the job. Undercover in multiple operations. She’s a badass who won’t take crap from anyone. She’s intrigued by this new ops team and though she seems to do well enough on her own, it’ll be a nice change of pace working with others.
Fans may recognize Jessica from her first major role as Gypsy on The Flash. Recent work includes a long run as public defender Emily Lopez on the LA based legal drama All Rise, as well as recurring roles on SWAT and Bosch: Legacy. It will be interesting to see who fills out the rest of the cast.
Given Jensen’s character is in the LAPD, and the mystery in the show centers on LA, that is probably a likely filming location for the show. There’s Amazon money behind this, so no need to make Vancouver stand in for the City of Angeles. Many other important questions abound – what haircut will Jensen have? Will he get a cool car? Hopefully he will get a chance to exercise his comedy chops that we all love with this character.
I have already created a category on the SupernaturalWiki for Countdown, so you can bookmark this page to check for future updates. Please get in touch if you’d like to get involved in updating this entry.
Don’t forget Season 4 of The Boys starts on June 13, 2024, with three episodes dropping on that day. The show has already been renewed for a fifth season. Kripke has strongly hinted that Jensen will return at some point as Soldier Boy, but not when. We do get Rob Benedict in episode 2, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a recurring character who is an ally of Butcher. Now that Jared will not be filming Walker, Kripke has said he’d love to have him in Season 5 saying “I have to complete my game of Supernatural Pokemon”.
If you can’t wait for more Jensen on your screen, make sure you’ve caught his most recent appearance as Batman in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two, which was released in April.
Back with more soon,
Carry On.