Supernatural and The Boys vet will star in new Amazon series Countdown

You know him as Dean Winchester. You also know him as Soldier Boy. It’ll soon be time to know Jensen Ackles as Officer Mark Meachum in Countdown.

Yes, the Supernatural and The Boys star is starring in a new series heading to Prime Video. It’s a crime thriller, which could appeal to those who love Reacher and are interested in Cross. It’s also going to draw attention from Chicago PD fans as it includes former One Chicago showrunner Derek Haas as showrunner.

What is Countdown about?

The series follows LAPD Officer Mark Meachum, who will be recruited to join a secret task force. This task force is full of undercover agents from different branches of law enforcement. They will be tasked with investigating a suspicious murder that happened in broad daylight.

Of course, this isn’t just one murder. The plot thickens and becomes more sinister by the episode. There are conflicting personal agendas, and anyone is at risk of being the next victim.

Ackles will play Meachum in his first role on an Amazon series since he signed a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios via his production company Chaos Machine Prods.

Haas will serve as showrunner and creator of the series. This is his first project since signing an overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios.

Countdown lands a rare 13-episode order

When it comes to streaming shows, we’re used to them getting between six and 10 episodes to a season. That’s not the case for this series. It is looking more like a network midseason series, landing 13 episodes from the start, according to Deadline.

Amazon has ordered this straight to series, too.

The 13-episode order is likely linked to the fact that Haas is creating it. He is used to the longer shows having worked with Wolf Entertainment for so long. The One Chicago and Law & Order franchises tend to run at 22 episodes per season.

It’s not like Ackles isn’t used to the longer-running shows as well. Supernatural had between 20 and 23 episodes most of the time (we’re not counting the 16-episode season due to the strikes back in 2008/2009), and The Winchesters had 13 episodes. He’d been on Smallville and Big Sky as well, pulling in the standard broadcast episode counts.

We’ll be sure to keep an eye on everything Countdown. The series isn’t likely coming out until 2025 at the earliest at this point.