Eric Dane, Jensen Ackles: 'Countdown' cops collaborate well, but also butt heads

UPI

26-06-2025

1 of 4 | Jensen Ackles (L) and Eric Dane star in "Countdown," premiering Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Prime Video
NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- Grey's Anatomy alum Eric Dane and Supernatural icon Jensen Ackles say the cop characters they play in the new action-drama, Countdown, may not always get along, but they work well together under pressure.
Premiering Wednesday on Prime Video, the show follows a multi-department task force charged with investigating why a Department of Homeland Security agent was murdered in broad daylight.
Dane's Nathan Blythe is the FBI senior special agent in charge, while Ackles plays Mark Meachum, a brash LAPD detective. Jessica Camacho, Elliot Knight, Violett Beane and Uli Latukefu round out the rest of the team.
"They butt heads a lot, but, at the end of the day, I get what I need from Mark Meachum and Mark Meachum gets what he needs in Nathan Blythe," Dane told UPI in a recent Zoom interview. "He sees a resilience and a tenacity [in Meachum] that is super-useful when you have a task force like this."
Ackles agreed there's mutual respect between Meachum and Blythe.
"[Meachum] understands that there's a reason why [Blythe] got to the position that he's in and it's not because he kissed the right ass. It is because he earned it," he added.
"But Meachum is still who he is and he has a hard time with authority and he questions -- not in a way of 'I think I know better' -- but just: 'Why me? Why now? Why this? Why this way?' which I think has gotten him into a lot of trouble with his former superior officers."
Blythe appreciates the skills and experience Meachum brings to the table, according to Ackles.
"One thing that Blythe sees in him is that he is thoughtful," Ackles said.
"He's not just an operative. He's not just a machine that he can press 'go.' Meachum does have unique skills and unique ways of getting the job done that [Blythe] recognizes and thinks: 'This is the guy that I need on my team, even though he might be a bit of a pain in the ass. He has a special set of skills that I need.'"
Meachum also locks horns with Camacho's DEA Agent Amber Oliveras.
"That's definitely some tension going on there," Ackles said.
"That's just good writing from Derek [Haas], putting those two characters together," Ackles added. "There is very quickly a connection formed. It's kind of a kindred spirit. He might see himself in some of the things that she does and how she does things."
Of course, having representatives of all of these agencies under one roof isn't always easy for Blythe to control.
"I like to think that Nathan Blythe hand-picked these people because he knew they would coalesce," Dane said.
"Part of why what makes Nathan Blythe so effective is his ability to make those decisions, to put people together who normally in other environments probably wouldn't get along, but, when singularly focused on this one task, they gel nicely."
Feeling's mutual. The first three episodes of 'Countdown' are streaming now. pic.twitter.com/FbuGJyYsa9— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) June 25, 2025