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Countdown season 1 is a crime drama series that debuted on Amazon Prime Video on June 25, 2025. Derek Haas has created and written the series and also serves as its showrunner. It is produced by Mike Ganzman and executive produced by Marc Bienstock, Jonathan Brown, and Haas.
In Countdown season 1, Jensen Ackles plays the LAPD detective Mark Meachum, who joins a federal task force with Amber Oliveras, Keyonte Bell, Evan Shepherd, and Lucas Finau to investigate the murder of a Homeland Security officer and stop a terrorist plot to launch a nuclear attack on US soil.
Amazon Prime Video has described the official synopsis of Countdown season 1, as follows,
"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 million."
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What is Countdown season 1 about?
Countdown season 1 features 13 episodes and will conclude on September 3, 2025. It aired the first three episodes together on June 25, 2025, with the remaining episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays at midnight ET. The runtime for each episode is between 45 to 53 minutes.
The action thriller series is directed by Jonathan Brown, Avi Youabian, Tess Malone, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Lisa Robinson, Rashidi Natara Harper, Eric Stoltz, and Chris Grismer.
Furthermore, Jensen Ackles told The Hollywood Reporter on June 25, 2025, that his character, Mark Meachum, in Countdown season 1 is an ode to the action heroes from the 1980s and 1990s. He described his character as follows,
"He has a love of the game. This is a guy who has found his calling in doing what he does. I can look to old school characters for inspiration — the John McClanes (Die Hard) and (Martin) Riggs from Lethal Weapon. Any of those early ‘80s and 90s action movies starring the Kurt Russells, Bruce Willises and Harrison Fords."
He added,
"But also like Josh Brolin in Sicario. A guy who likes to show up in flip flops who doesn’t give a sh*t, where maybe his commanding officers don’t love how unbuttoned he is. I’ve always gravitated towards characters like that. I’ve loved to watch performances like that. So it was very easy for me to fall into finding this guy."
A brief recap of Countdown season 1
Countdown season 1 begins with the murder of the HSI officer, Robert Darden. In response, the senior FBI Agent Nathan Blythe creates a federal task force comprising Mark Meachum, Amber Oliveras, Evan Shepherd, Keyonte Bell, and Luke Finau from various law enforcement departments like the FBI, LAPD, DEA, and the Secret Service.
During their investigation, the team's tech expert, Evan, zeroes in on the image of the shooter and identifies him as Cesar Murillo. Another key figure is Maurice Spellman, Robert's colleague from the Customs and Border Protection division. They discover that Robert was looking into Spellman's corrupt activities with a drug cartel before he was killed.
Spellman reveals that he was helping the cartel and Borys Volchek, an official of the Belarusian Defense Ministry. In episode 2 of Countdown season 1, Mark and Amber infiltrate the cartel through one of its members Javi Lopez, and carry out a drug run for him.
They help bring a truckload of heroin into the United States from Mexico to win Javi's trust and gain access to his drug operations. But, before he can disclose any relevant information, Javi is killed in car explosion by Volcheck.
In the third episode, Mark connects with Timur Novikov, a prison inmate he knew while working undercover at the prison facility in Palmdale. Timur leads Mark to his uncle, Mikhail, unaware that he works for Volchek. At Mikhail's mansion, Mark uncovers blueprints, electronic gadgets, and maps, confirming his suspicion that Volchek is planning something sinister.
However, Volchek and Mikhail escape in the ensuing shootout with Mark's team at the end of the Countdown season 1 episode 3.
Cast and characters of Countdown season 1
The full cast list of Countdown season 1 is given below:
- Jensen Ackles as Mark Meachum
- Eric Dane as Nathan Blythe
- Jessica Camacho as Amber Oliveras
- Violett Beane as Evan Shepherd
- Bogdan Yasinski as Borys Volchek
- Elliot Knight as Keyonte Bell
- Uli Latukefu as Luke Finau
- Rachel Armstrong as Heather
- Merrick McCartha as DA Grayson Valwell/District Attorney Grayson Valwell
- Jonathan von Mering as Andrej
- Jonathan Togo as Damon Drew
- Matt Kaminsky as Jerry
- Nikolay Moss as Danill
- Nick Bardin as Dmitry Kotov
- Cameron Gayden as Memo
- Ryan de Quintal as Rolf/Rolf Morozov
- Kamy D. Bruder as Kirill
- Scot Ruggles as Adic Jay Tostrud
- Nas Akkerman as Shopper
- Milo Ventimiglia as Robert Darden
- Brent Sexton as Dennis
- Leith M. Burke as Maurice Spellman
- Samson Moeakiola as Sam Johnson
- J.J. Soria as Javi Lopez
- Emily Bridges as Meredith Darden
- Nicole Lyn as Amina Finau
- Toby Larsen as Zach Darden
- Chris Marroy as Daniels
- Ryan Padilla as BPD Jordan
- Grace Jenkins as Cameron Finau
- Sean Sekino as Chun
- Hudson Brown as Delphi Manager Gregory
- Michanne Quinney as the Paramedic
- Stephanie T. Keefer as Karen
- Christian Barber as LAPD Sgt. Hugh Lambert
- Dima Savyan as Anton
- Autumn Layne as Kennedy Finau
- Gregory Gast as Dale
- Aaron Blakely as Charles
- Erik Marion as the ER Doctor
- Péter Végh as Kostenko
- Tim Abell as Warden Gil Thompson
- Nicola Bertram as Amy Moreno
- Steve Filice as Police Chief
- Charles Kim as SA Steve Cha
- Jacob Figueroa as Cedro
- Ryan Pratton as Galen
- Chet Grissom as Jim Talbott
- Robb Zbacnik as Prison Guard
- Brittany Freeth as Marta
- Nicholas Stoesser as Sam
- Kevin Acevedo as Erasmo
- Greg Benson as Dr. Condrey
- Jordyn Denning as Rosemary
- P.K. Simone as Van Herron
- Pancho Cardena as Gregorio Ruiz
- Matthew Gudernatch as Writer
- Marcus DeAnda as Gerardo
- Marypat Farrell as the Socialite Francine
- Boise Holmes as DHS Chief Officer
- Alastair Bayardo as Surgeon
- Panna Dominika Bíró as Kira
- Jo-Marie Lawrence as Stella Myers
- Rey Laredo as MBP Guard
- Troy Blendell as SSA Ray Kubler
- David Douglas as Coach Frank
- Roderick Hill as Clarke
- Devin Looc as Bruno
- Nick Wittman as Matt Woodley
- Tamás Podlovics as Pilot
- Krisztián Csákvári as Vlad
- Joy Sung Kim as a Korean Woman
- Jayne Han as Jee Kim
- Anna Barraza as Latina Girl
- Alan Silva as Gabriel
- Deanne Black as Gilly
- Lily Keene as Sharon
- Jules Willcox as Caty Blythe
- Ronnie Gene Blevins as Mike Collins
- Vincent Foster as an Older Man
- Sam Daly as Aynesworth
- Kurt Yue as Ho
- Joe Pistone as John Ross
- Alex Sgambati as Kara
- Lacey Claire Rogers as Officer Hannah
- Betsy Beutler as Val Sparks
- Brian Yang as Kieran Teo
- Rico E. Anderson as Randall Tooks
- Bradley Snedeker as Detective Flagler
- Karina Noelle Castillo as Carmela
- Valerie Loo as Venetia Lim
- Anna Mhairi as Danielle
- Joshua Dov as Hopper
- Mark Rowe as Rory Grogan
- Patrick Hume as Trevor Kellen TK Pasternak
- Angel Rivera as Troy Ballard
- Dan Warner as Morris
- Andre Boyer as Tanaka
- Nicholas Wagner as the Federal Civilian Worker
- Julie Craig as Reilly Miller
- Denzel Johnson as Clausen
- Carolyne Maraghi as Jaqueline
- Scott Broderick as Del Kilmartin
- Danny Minnick as Cigs
- Christopher Lusti as Worthington
- Sam Breslin Wright as Roger Langbert
- Dwayne Standridge as Agent Connelly
- Matisse Mazur as Dougray Rawlston
- Vick Sabian as Raman
- Maurice Webster as Terry
- Aaron Ford as Bonner
- Zack Sayenko as Lubomir Piskun
- Selina Hui as the Tourist
- Harry Santiago as the LAPD Detective
- Aaron Marshall as Hunter 1
- Adrian M. Mompoint as Cione
- Aaron DJ Williams as Neighbor
- Pasha D. Lychnikoff
- Daniel Chernish
- Adam J. Harrington
- Ana Alexander
- Amanda Brooks
- Duke Davis Roberts
- Mark Puchinsky
- Stephen Monroe Taylor
- Rustic Bodomov as Radoslav (uncredited)
- Marco Vazzano as Javi's Bodyguard (uncredited)
- Ara Storm as Neighbor (uncredited)
- Ithaka Darin as Pappas Swineherd (uncredited)
Watch all episodes of Countdown season 1 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
