Reviewed by Alicia Glass 

After a Department of Homeland Security officer is killed in broad daylight, a secret task force of various law enforcement agencies is brought together to track down the murderer, uncovering instead a vast conspiracy that threatens the entirety of Southern California and potentially beyond! 

Many of us enjoy watching the crime-drama shows, complete with leads that refuse to conform to the command structure of any given law enforcement or military authority, and are for one reason or another, entirely reckless and ruthless in their hunt for the bad guys. 24 with Kiefer Sutherland, that ran for 8 glorious seasons and one season of an attempted spinoff starring Corey Hawkins called 24: Legacy, are prime examples of this now-famous story styling. Countdown attempts to swim in the same vein but add flavor to the soup with several alternating leads, so make sure your gun is well hidden and let’s dive into this! 

Of course the beloved Jensen Ackles, of Supernatural and The Boys fame, is touted as the main lead in his character Mark Meachum, the known reckless cowboy from LAPD Robbery/Homicide Division who went undercover maybe a little too often, but is somehow still known for getting the job done. Meachum is also a former Army Ranger with multiple deployments to combat zones, but vehemently denies any possible leftover PTSD. No, Meachum’s problems in his head are actually quite physical in nature, but he’s not ready to share the fact that a tumor in his brain is killing him, with the rest of his colleagues or even the boss just yet. Not until his symptoms start making him an actual liability that is. 

Special Agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho) is a DEA Agent known for her undercover work, which of course has left her with plenty of troubles of her own. Indeed, it seems to be a bit of an open secret that Oliveras is, or was, or became whatever, a stone junkie while she was working undercover amidst the gangs and the drugs. Oliveras is justifiably resentful about being branded in this fashion by her fellow officers, most of whom have no idea what its like to be undercover amidst the ruthless uzi-packing gangs, who will literally kill you if you don’t do that line of white powder in front of them right freaking now. 

Special Agent Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane), on the other hand, is from the FBI cyber crimes division, she’s our resident hacker who prefers not to be referred to as such. Small but mighty, as determined as a pit bull when it comes down to tracking down clues of the bad guys’ whereabouts, Shepherd wades through the minutiae of data and more often than not emerges triumphant with the next lead. Of course Shepherd comes with her own baggage, but she’s actually a fair bit more adept at hiding it than the others. 

FBI Special Agent Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight) specializes in terrorist threats, both from home and abroad, and though he was recruited on his own merits, lives in his famous fathers shadow. Bell Sr. is well known amongst not only the law enforcement community, but also within the judicial system and especially supposedly by the current District Attorney, Grayson Valewell (Merrick McCartha), who tries to use familial connections to sway Bell Jr. into snitching on his top secret task force doings. 

Detective Luke Finau (Uli Latukefu) is recruited from his 18-year stint in LAPD’s Gangs and Narcotics division, the characters’ name was changed from its original to honor the actors’ real-life Tongan heritage, a lovely gesture from show creator Derek Haas. 

Finally we have the glue that holds this merry band of misfits together, Special Agent of the FBI who’s in charge of and put this whole squad together in the first place, Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane). Dane is a veteran actor of many militaristic drama shows where he inevitably plays a character in a position of authority who commands respect, loyalty, and dishes it out in spades for his crew in return, and this role is absolutely no different. Blythe has the back, and front if need be, of every single member of the special task force he personally put together. 

The show doesn’t lack for anything – bad guys like Volchek (Bogdan Yasinski) with even a little bit of empathy afforded them, explosions and car chases and ass-kicking action scenes laced with a whole bunch of heart and tiny slices of interpersonal scenes, plus a bangin soundtrack featuring legends like Metallica, Wolfmother, The Hives and more! 

Cheer on our extra-special task force as they hurry to save the world, in Countdown, on Amazon Prime now!