One month after the Season 1 finale, the fate of Jensen Ackles‘ crime procedural has been decided. News broke this morning that Countdown has been canceled by Prime Video and will not move forward with another season. The studio has reportedly spent the last few months weighing a second season of Countdown, but ultimately couldn’t justify it given the viewership numbers. Ackles’ crime thriller earned poor scores from critics, leading to it holding a 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also sits at 63% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter, which certainly isn’t anything to write home about.
Prime Video recruited some major talent to star alongside Ackles in Countdown, but that ultimately couldn’t save the show in the long run. Starring as Amber Oliveras is Jessica Camacho, who is best known for her role as Jade Quinn in Bosch: Legacy. Eric Dane, famed for playing Cal Jacobs in Euphoria and for starring as Mark Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy, also features in Countdown as Nathan Blythe. Violett Beane (Death and Other Details), Elliot Knight (Titans), Uli Latukefu (Black Adam), and Rachel Armstrong (Chicago Fire) also star in Countdown. The show was written and created for television by Derek Haas, who also created all three shows under the One Chicago umbrella.
Countdown star Jensen Ackles is best known for his role as Dean Winchester in Supernatural. Just in the last few years, he’s become even more popular with his roles as Russell Shaw in Tracker and Soldier Boy in The Boys. Ackles’ Soldier Boy was such a fan-favorite that he’s been recruited to lead a new Boys offshoot series, Vought Rising. Aya Cash will also reprise her role as Stormfront in the show.
Don’t Give Up on ‘Countdown’ Yet
Prime Video may have canceled Countdown, but the show may not be completely dead yet. In the coming days and weeks, Prime Video may shop the series to other streamers or potentially even networks. Derek Haas certainly has a great working relationship with NBC after working on so many seasons of Chicago Fire, PD, and Med, so they could be viewed as a potential savior for the show. Fans will also certainly campaign for the show to be saved, and after several stars have expressed a desire to return for Season 2, they likely won’t be eager to give up on the show either.
via Collider