Prime Video has officially pulled the plug on two of its freshman dramas — Countdown, starring Jensen Ackles, and Butterfly, led by Daniel Dae Kim — both produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
Despite still landing on Prime Video’s U.S. Top 10 weeks after their finales, the streamer opted not to move forward with second seasons. Countdown — the stronger performer of the two — even reached #8 on Nielsen’s Streaming Originals chart during its run, while Butterfly peaked at #6.
Sources say the decision came down to global viewership numbers, not domestic performance.
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This wraps up Amazon’s latest round of renewal decisions for its six spring/summer series. The YA dramas We Were Liars and Overcompensating were renewed, while Motorheads was canceled. On the crime and thriller side, Bosch spinoff Ballard survived the cut, while Countdown and Butterfly did not.
Both shows marked creative partnerships Prime Video still values — Ackles continues to work with Amazon through his Chaos Machine banner (with wife Danneel Ackles), and will soon star in The Boys spinoff Vought Rising. Kim’s 3AD also remains under a first-look deal with the studio.
About Countdown
Created by Derek Haas (Chicago Fire), Countdown followed LAPD detective Mark Meachum (Ackles), who joins a covert task force investigating the daylight murder of a Homeland Security officer — only to uncover a far deeper conspiracy threatening millions. The cast also included Eric Dane, Jessica Camacho, Violett Beane, Elliot Knight, and Uli Latukefu.
About Butterfly
Co-created by Ken Woodruff and novelist Steph Cha, Butterfly centered on David Jung (Kim), a former U.S. intelligence agent living in South Korea whose past comes back to destroy the life he’s built. Pursued by a deadly young assassin (Reina Hardesty) and the mysterious organization Caddis, Jung is forced into a dangerous game of survival. The cast featured Kim Ji-hoon, Park Hae-soo, Kim Tae-hee, Charles Parnell, Sean Dulake, and Nayoon Kim, with guest appearances by Sung Dong-il and Lee Il-hwa.
While both series debuted to solid streaming numbers, critics were divided. Variety’s Aramide Tinubu called Countdown “monotonous” and Butterfly “more smoke and mirrors than character-driven material.”
Still, the cancellations mark the end of two visually ambitious thrillers that had hoped to kick off long-running franchises under the Amazon MGM banner.