I've already watched the first three episodes of Prime Video's new action series — and it's no thrill ride

Tom's Guide

8 hours ago

Prime Video's latest original series is "Countdown," an explosive, race-against-time action thriller from "One Chicago" creator Derek Haas and star Jensen Ackles.
Viewing the "Countdown" trailer, I was pretty amped. While I'm not hugely familiar with Haas' previous series, I'm always game for a dose of adrenaline, and "Countdown" looked like it'd deliver some thrills.
Ahead of the show's three-episode premiere today (June 25), I had the chance to check out the initial drop ... and I've got bad news.
I'd hoped that "Countdown" would be a fun, high-octane summer treat on the Amazon streaming service, but after watching these first three episodes, I can't say I'm eager to sit through any more "Countdown" — here's why.
The big problem here, simply put, is that "Countdown" is so generic that I quickly found it was washing over me. And given there are 10 more episodes left, well, that's worrying.
The series revolves around Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles), an LAPD detective who is recruited to a secret task force after a Department of Homeland Security officer is murdered in broad daylight. Together with other undercover agents from other branches of law enforcement, Meachum starts to search for the killer.
Soon, the task force uncovers a far more sinister plot that leads to a race against time to save the city.
As a set-up, that sure sounds like a recipe for a thrilling ride, right? Well, that's not how I feel three episodes in. It's not like "Countdown" is slow-moving, per se; the series opens with a frenetic chase, and there's action and plot reveal woven in pretty regularly to keep things moving along. It's just that what's here isn't fun to watch, and despite that set-up, the story just feels so inert.
There's mention of incredibly high stakes (our heroes are trying to prevent a "Chernobyl-level event" from happening in Los Angeles) and that grand terror plot to foil, but the show can't match those stakes.
A lot of time is spent watching middling chatter, or cliche storybeats, or exposition dumps. The characters, so far, feel pretty one-note, and even some of the action looks and feels pretty clunky.
Despite the ticking-clock premise, it's anything but edge-of-your-seat stuff. Each of these opening episodes ends with a big crescendo moment that I'm sure was designed to have you itching to want to come back for more, but the reality is, "Countdown" is just another average-at-best police procedural that just sucks the fun out of proceedings.
While I don't think "boring" is a productive criticism, that's ultimately the way I'd describe Prime Video's new show. And with my interest already wavering from the first three instalments, I can't really fathom what "Countdown" could do to change my mind on that front.
Unless you're really going to get a kick out of some of the action sequences or love a gruff, cocksure Jensen Ackles turn, "Countdown" doesn't feel like it's worth the time investment.
It's just sort of fine at best, and that's simply not good enough to have me ready to commit to returning week to week for the remaining episodes.
Looks like I'm not alone on that front, either; early reviews show "Countdown" is proving divisive. At the time of writing, the show's currently sitting at a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with others also criticizing the show's cliche feel.
I'm not one to rag on a show unnecessarily, but honestly, when I was watching "Countdown," the only counting going on was from me, looking at the remaining runtime and wishing for the show to be over. I'm willing to be proven wrong, but the series didn't make a good first impression.
And if reading this has put you off "Countdown" and you're now in dire need of some streaming inspiration right now, check out our guide to the best Prime Video shows for tons more suggestions that are more deserving of your time.
"Countdown" episodes 1-3 are streaming now on Prime Video.