Jensen Ackles is shedding his Supernatural roots this summer in the 2025 TV schedule with the premiere of Countdown, his new Prime Video TV show. The actor, who previously worked on The Winchesters as a Supernatural spinoff and re-teamed with Supernatural creator Erik Kripke on The Boys, joined forces with Derek Haas of Chicago Fire fame to play an LAPD detective who is recruited into a secret task force.
The latest development? Prime Video has revealed a premiere date, and while that's certainly exciting, I'm thinking back to the action-packed On Call and the cast's high hopes for renewal news... going back several months.
When You Can Watch Countdown
Countdown will officially premiere for streamers with a Prime Video subscription on Wednesday, June 25. The first three episodes will drop on that first day, with the subsequent installments releasing weekly up until the finale on September 1.
Given that Jensen Ackles announced that he'd wrapped on Countdown back in March, the wait to see the series isn't too bad. He's joined in the cast by Grey's Anatomy's Eric Dane, The Flash's Jessica Camacho, and Death and Other Details' Violett Beane, among others.
The story of Countdown kicks off when a Department of Homeland Security officer is murdered in broad daylight, which results in LAPD Detective Mark Meachum (Ackles) joining undercover agents from all other branches of law enforcement on a task force to investigate.
The plot will only thicken from there, and it's a safe bet that there will be plenty of action courtesy of showrunner and executive producer Derek Haas. He filled those same roles on NBC's extremely successful Chicago Fire for years, and Fire delivers some of the strongest stunts on network televisison.
What About On Call?
In light of the Countdown news, I couldn't help but flash back to On Call, the half-hour police drama starring Pretty Little Liars' Troian Bellisario, The Good Doctor's Brandon Larracuente, Full House icon Lori Loughlin, and ER legend Eriq LaSalle as police officers in Long Beach, California. It wasn't shot quite like other crime dramas, as the first season also incorporated bodycam and dash-cam footage. The show hails from Wolf Entertainment, a.k.a. the production company behind One Chicago, the Law & Order world, and CBS' FBI world.
Fan reactions were mixed when On Call premiered back in January, despite a fan-favorite Chicago Fire alum making cameo early on. As somebody who regularly tunes in to network. TV's nine-show Dick Wolf world, I enjoyed what the creators' described as their "popcorn entertainment" approach to the story.
I was fortunate enough to speak with the On Call team back in December ahead of the premiere on Prime Video, and had to ask Lori Loughlin and Eriq La Salle if they'd be interested in coming back for a potential Season 2. Loughlin immediately responded with "Oh lord, we hope!" Eriq La Salle, who was also an executive producer and director for On Call, chimed in:
Absolutely. It's a great show. It's different. I think it's what's needed, because things start feeling the same, and this is a very, very different show. Also, it's a half hour drama that feels in a good way like an hour, because it packs so much into it. It's a half hour drama! Again, we start talking about what's new and fresh – you don't see that out there on this level. We're definitely pushing for a second season. I think we have a really strong show, and personally, I think they'd be crazy not to give us a second season.
Considering that Eriq La Salle has acting, directing, and producing credits on a plethora of hour-long crime dramas (including Chicago P.D., Law & Order, Law & Order: Organized Crime, FBI, and FBI's upcoming CIA spinoff), who better to attest to On Call feeling fresh with its half-hour run time? Loughlin went on to share her hopes for the series' future, including a compliment for what her costar achieved while directing:
Hopefully the viewers will like it, but I think they will. The show really sucks you in. It is just energetic. It's fast paced. It's got great characters, very character-driven. It's so interesting what you [to Eriq] did with the drone and body camera and iPhone camera. It just really sucks you in. You feel like you're in the squad car with these police officers.
I spoke with these stars back in December, before the premiere in January when Prime Video subscribers en masse were able to check out the eight episodes for themselves. In all those months since the early 2025 premiere, Amazon has not announced a renewal or cancellation for On Call. I can't say if cast members have given up by this point, but I for one would just like to know.
At this point, all fans can do is wait for news and/or rewatch the first season if they want a fix of the On Call action. Jensen Ackles' Countdown does seem like a fun series that could be a hit with fans of any Wolf Entertainment viewer, and I'll be checking it out when it premieres in June.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
