Spoilers ahead for the series premiere of Countdown, available streaming now with a Prime Video subscription.
Countdown arrived on Prime Video in the 2025 TV schedule for viewers who had every reason to expect an action-packed new drama centered on fan-favorites Jensen Ackles and Eric Dane. So, the appearance of none other than This Is Us' Milo Ventimiglia undoubtedly came as a surprise, after creator Derek Haas managed to keep his role a secret. But mere minutes after Ventimiglia debuted as Homeland Security Agent Robert Darden, he was murdered, and that was that! Haas spoke with CinemaBlend about why he cast a beloved actor for such a quick and tragic role.
Of course, saying "that was that" does somewhat undersell how much Milo Ventimiglia delivered in his five minutes of screentime. With his few lines, he established Darden as a devoted and loving family man. With his action sequence, he proved that he would have made a great member of the team that has to save Los Angeles... if only the bad guys hadn't caught up with him and shot him through the heart. R.I.P. Darden!
The actor, who was so beloved for This Is Us that the Crock-Pot company had to do damage control after an unfortunate twist for his character, ultimately had a short but intense role in Countdown to set the stage for the rest of the story. When I spoke with Chicago Fire vet Derek Haas during Prime Video's Countdown press junket about Milo Ventimiglia's surprise appearance, the creator explained:
Milo Ventimiglia, I got, honestly, fortuitously cast, because in 30 seconds, if you've ever gotten to spend time with Milo, the actor, in 30 seconds, you just love the guy. I knew I had this limited time you were going to spend with Darden, and I wanted you in that opening to be like, 'Oh my gosh, I already like this guy!'
I actually was fortunate enough to speak with Ventimiglia when he was promoting This Is Us back in 2021, and I went away with the impression of a thoughtful actor who went all-in on his performances. Throw in projects like Heroes and Gilmore Girls for Ventimiglia, and Derek Haas certainly succeeded in finding a lovable actor to cast and then kill off.
In fact, for a brief moment, it seemed like Countdown could unite two former CW stars, after Jensen Ackles' Supernatural days and Milo Ventimiglia's Gilmore Girls era. Alas, Ventimiglia's Darden died before Ackles' Mark Meachum even debuted. Derek Haas elaborated on why he was so lucky to even briefly land the This Is Us vet:
And then I got both sides of it, because he's such a great actor, emotionally, but also a great action actor, which I needed both of those two things in the first five minutes of the show. So it was really just, I count my lucky stars that I got to work with him.
On the whole, I'm guessing that the death of Darden will leave even more of an impact on fans with Prime Video releasing Countdown episodes weekly instead of dropping them all at once. Jensen Ackles and Eric Dane explained why they're fans of the weekly release format, which certainly tracks with the primetime shows that shot them to fame. Binge-watching Supernatural on The CW and Grey's Anatomy on ABC was never an option back in the day!
So, was Darden the first of many good guys to be killed off on Countdown, or should we be confident for the rest of the task force's survival? Well, if you watched all of the first three episodes that released on Prime Video on June 25, you might have a pretty good idea of how high the stakes are for the various team members. As a Chicago Fire fan watching Countdown, I did have to laugh a bit that the first major death from a Derek Haas show was named Darden.
New episodes of Countdown debut streaming on Prime Video on Wednesdays through early September. The task force comprised of agents from various law enforcement agencies are facing a ticking clock to save Los Angeles, so be sure to keep tuning it for a solid summer action series.
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