Reacher vs Meachum: Jansen Ackles’ character from Countdown might take Reacher’s place as Prime Video’s top action hero

For the last few years, Prime Video shows like Reacher have heavily leaned on a specific kind of character to drive its biggest action hits, men who operate outside the system but still follow their own brand of justice.

When Alan Ritchson's show launched in 2022, it became one of Prime Video’s biggest shows overnight. Alan Ritchson stepped in as Jack Reacher, a hulking loner who lets his fists do the talking and rarely sticks around after the dust settles.

That quiet, brutal style clicked with audiences instantly. But Prime Video may have just introduced a new contender. A different kind of cop, with a different kind of problem. Someone who doesn’t always play it smart, but never plays it safe either. The show is Countdown.

The character is Mark Meachum. And the question now isn’t whether audiences like him, it’s whether Prime Video is starting to pivot. Reacher may still be the face of the brand, but someone’s knocking on the door.

Countdown might be the reason Reacher loses its crown at Prime Video

When Alan Ritchson's show debuted in 2022, it gave Prime Video exactly what it needed: an instant hit built around a character who didn’t say much, solved problems with violence, and didn’t care about authority.

Alan Ritchson’s physique alone made him look like the character fans had imagined for years. The show moved fast, kept the stakes grounded, and leaned on brutal hand-to-hand fights.

Season 1 was about clearing his name. Season 2 brought in his old military team. Season 3 sent him undercover. Each time, Reacher stayed calm, calculated, and emotionally detached. That worked. Until it didn’t.

Now comes Countdown, which is already Prime Video’s top show, less than a month after it launched. Jensen Ackles plays Mark Meachum, an LAPD detective with a terminal diagnosis and nothing to lose. He’s part of an FBI task force trying to stop a terrorist plot. That setup alone makes the stakes bigger than anything the character has tackled.

But what’s really turning heads is how personal it feels. Meachum isn’t a drifter. He’s not stoic. He’s scared and reckless. He hides his diagnosis from the team but throws himself into danger again and again, which his teammate Oliveras starts picking up on midway through the season. They argue. She calls him out. He doesn’t push back.

This kind of emotional depth is something the show has stayed away from. Ritchson’s Reacher doesn’t open up, doesn’t change, and doesn’t need people. He wins fights and walks off. That worked well in the beginning. But Meachum’s self-destructive behavior is giving Countdown something different.

Audiences want to keep watching because they know he’s on borrowed time. Every decision feels like it matters. Meachum isn’t just trying to save the day; he’s also trying to prove something to himself before time runs out.

The other major difference is tone. Reacher sticks to a lone wolf format with short bursts of teamwork. Countdown brings the team dynamic front and center. Meachum works closely with a group called Team Hurricane. They argue. They joke. They go undercover.

The show spends real time on how they bond, especially in scenes like the one where Meachum volunteers to check a booby-trapped trailer. Everyone knows it’s a bad idea, but Meachum doesn’t care. He figures if anyone’s going to die, it might as well be him.

That mindset is dangerous, but it’s what’s pulling viewers in. Ackles plays Meachum with just enough charm to hide the pain, and just enough honesty to let it bleed through when needed. Even though critics weren’t sold on the first few episodes, fans kept watching.

Now it’s climbing every week. It doesn’t mean Reacher’s done. But if Countdown keeps building on what it’s doing now, Prime Video might not need Jack as its anchor anymore. They might already have someone new.

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