Jensen Ackles & Eric Dane Race To Prevent 'Chernobyl-Level Event' In L.A. In First ‘Countdown' Trailer
It's a race against time in Countdown as Jensen Ackles, Eric Dane and Jessica Camacho try to stop a high-stakes terror threat in Los Angeles in the first trailer for the Prime Video action drama series from Derek Haas.
'I was just checking to see how you were after that bomb went off in our face last night,' says Ackles' Mark Meachum to Camacho's Amber Oliveras as the trailer opens. Cue to a massive car bomb explosion. 'Ready to rock,' replies a confident Amber.
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Created by Haas, in Countdown, 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.
In addition to Ackles, Dane and Camacho, the series also stars Violett Beane, Elliot Knight and Uli Latukefu.
Countdown is created by showrunner and EP Haas and produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
As previously announced, the series will launch with its first three episodes on June 25. New episodes will follow weekly, leading up to the season finale on Sept. 3
Check out the trailer above.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t72R6wZ0zQ8?version=3&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://deadline.com&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=600&h=338]
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But that's just what goes through my mind, at least.' Reflecting on Invasion, he points out that he's been on the set with his castmates since he was 13, 'and I'm turning 18 next month.' Shaking his head, he adds, 'It's just been a mad trip, a mad drive, especially through Covid and everything.' There were stops and starts during the pandemic, though there was a period where they had to stop shooting 'for ages.' But when they resumed 'we'd all grown up by that point and all the growth spurts had happened.' The plus factor is that he made lifelong friends through his involvement with Invasion. He took Cassius, his younger brother, to the set while shooting the final episode of Season 2. 'He was acting a little bit before this and then stopped. And then when I took him to that set, he was so amazed by all the lights and the lasers. It was a mad thing to see. He was like, 'I want to start acting again.' There's video on YouTube of the 2020 International Emmy ceremony done remotely. 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I'm definitely starting, even though I've been doing it for about 11 years now, almost. I'm a new actor, I guess.' Every actor arrives in some shape or from, I suggest. Leonardo DiCaprio didn't arrive fully formed, nor did Timothée Chalamet or Tom Cruise. Taking issue, Barratt argues that 'Leonardo DiCaprio did come fully formed. I love him. And I think every single film I've seen him in from when he was younger than me in these films like Basketball Diaries or What's Eating Gilbert Grape he's just incredible in all of it. I just think there's just some people that have just got it straight away, and I don't class myself with one of those people, I'm still learning, for sure. And I think that's what I mean when I say an 'actor at my level' — someone that doesn't understand a lot of it but really wants to. Wants to be involved in all of it.' We order French fries, a Coke for him and more piping-hot tea for me. Making Responsible Child, about a 12-year-old boy accused of helping to kill his abusive stepfather who was tried in court the same as an adult in England and Wales, opened his eyes to the power of film. After it came out, he realized 'how much of an impact' it had had, with changes made in how police and courts handle such cases. He remembers reading about it and thinking: 'Oh, shit! It's not just sitting down and watching something on Netflix. It can change people's lives.' Certainly, Responsible Child hold is one of those films that stay with you. There are a bunch of movies that have stayed with him too. Like David Fincher's Fight Club, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island and Christopher Nolan's Inception. He's a big fan of Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation as well. And Michael Curtiz's Casablanca! He likes Francis Coppola's The Godfather, and now — having watched the Paramount+ series The Offer, about producer Albert S. 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Season 3 of Invasion was shot in Canada, with Barratt's scenes being shot before and after working on Bring Her Back. 'My hair was really long, and then I went to shoot Invasion, they cut my hair really short. And then I went back out to Canada, and my hair was still short. So then they a wig. But the wig, it just didn't look like it did before. I don't blame anyone for that. I just think it just didn't fit me correctly. It just wasn't right. I've actually watched it back on the cameras, and it looked good. But me actually walking around, it just didn't work.' He's not allowed to give anything away about Season 3 of Invasion, but he does let slip that … Oh, no! I realize that it's way too much of a spoiler to impart. Whatever happens to his Casper Morrow in Invasion, Billy Barratt's in for a long and fruitful career. 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