This post contains spoilers from Countdown season 1 episode 1 from this point forward.
Your new favorite action-packed summer series has arrived! Prime Video debuted the first three episodes of Jensen Ackles' new show Countdown on June 25, and the first episode drops us right into the action to introduce us to the story's setup and the task force. But before we meet any of the characters we'll be spending the most time with, a surprise cameo sets the tone.
The first episode, "Teeth in the Bone," opens a Department of Homeland Security agent, played by This Is Us star Milo Ventimiglia, conducting an investigation at the Port of Los Angeles. He then walks through a park and calls his wife to promise he'll try to make their son's performance. Unfortunately, his mission leads to an altercation and chase that results in him being shot and killed in the street. The gunman kills him at close range, in broad daylight, creating panic from passersby.
Following the death of Ventimiglia's Robert Darden, Nathan Blythe (Eric Dane) assembles a task force to go undercover and look into the cartel that killed Darden. LAPD robbery homicide detective Mark Meachum (Jensen Ackles) has spent the better part of a year undercover in prison, and DEA agent Amber Oliveras (Jessica Camacho) finds herself in a sticky situation in a drug den.
The task force also includes Blythe's right hand man and Homeland Security intelligence agent Damon Drew (Jonathan Togo), FBI agents Keyonte Bell (Elliot Knight) and Evan Shepherd (Violett Beane) and gangs and narcotics detective Luke Finau (Uli Latukefu). Drew briefs the task force on its purpose and details on Darden's murder, including the $200,000 deposit in his bank account two weeks before his death. It's all linked to the Los Reyes Nuevos cartel in Tijuana.
Countdown reveals the team's secrets and an imminent threat
Blythe wants the task force to find out why Darden was murdered, why he was receiving those payments, anything they can find about this case. Right off the bat, Meachum and Oliveras don't get along, which isn't the best note to start the task force on. She holds a grudge against him for dumping a friend of hers two days before they were supposed to get married. While those two have a chilly first chat, Shepherd joins Blythe to meet Darden's widow, who rebuffs Blythe's questioning.
The rest of the task force interviews Darden's coworkers to see what information they can uncover. They run into some conflicting details from Jim Talbott and Maurice Spellman, but when Shepherd discovers the gunman that killed Darden was the cartel's hitman Cesar Murrillo, the team chases down a potential connection and then Spellman, who was preparing to flee. Meachum and Oliveras interview him and use their tension to get him to talk about his own bribery involving his sister.
As they put the pressure on him to confess that he had Darden killed, Spellman admits that he didn't know they were going to kill him. What it all boils down to is that Darden was aware that Spellman was in the pocket of the Los Reyes cartel, prompting them to solve that problem by killing Darden. One less squeaky wheel to worry about. After learning this information, Blythe and Shepherd return to inform Darden's wife that her husband died as hero by standing up to a dangerous cartel.
Beyond the case that the task force chips away at, there are some potential personal secrets that could impact the team in the future. Blythe learns from another agent that there are murmurs from a DEA informant that Oliveras is an addict and a "ticking time bomb." He's not quick to believe this rumor. Meanwhile, Meachum attends a doctor's appointment where we find out he's suffering from a brain tumor and doesn't have much time left. Also, Drew's young son Noah died in a car accident.
While in a bar having a drink, Oliveras does some research on her team, including looking into Meachum's previous undercover mission per Finau's suggestion. She seems to gain more understanding for her difficult new colleague, but follows someone sketchy to the bathroom. As Bell looks into Spellman's phone, he discovers Spellman lied to them. He ordered Customs and Border Patrol clear of Pier 31, which leads the team to rush there before the designated time in one hour.
A mystery man ominously inspects a shipment in a truck with men in hazmat suits surrounding him. When the team arrives sirens blazing, chaos and shooting breaks out, and Blythe calls for backup. Meachum saves Oliveras' life from one of the gunman, who was Cesar Murrillo, but the team failed to apprehend the mystery man or his product. Bell warns them to step back and tracks an imminent danger. Blythe announces that there's "enough missing fissile material to fuel a Chernobyl-level event." The clock is ticking for the team to save the city!
Countdown releases new episodes Wednesdays on Prime Video.
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