In the 47-minute show, two American detectives question “Singaporean” Kieran Teo, played by American actor Brian Yang, at his office in Los Angeles after a murder takes place on company property.
The fictional company is called Beruang Holdings, with the characters revealing it is 60 per cent owned by Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) – the actual governing party in the city state in real life. Teo is depicted as unable to speak English and instead communicates with police in Malay through an interpreter.
While Teo is initially compliant with interrogators, the meeting is interrupted by PAP representatives, who end the session abruptly and tell the detectives to produce subpoenas or “negotiate with the PAP directly through our consulate or embassy”.
The PAP representatives eventually back down and comply after being admonished by a US governor called George Shelby, who says: “If the Singaporean government wants to hide information from law enforcement, and that man were to make good on those threats, how do you think that’s going to play in the world?”
The Countdown episode on August 20 drew criticism and ridicule from online users, who took issue with the perceived ignorance of the writers.
One user, who said the showrunners should issue an apology to Singapore, wrote: “It’s something I feel I would have shrugged off in a [sic] B-tier movie in the 90s – but in 2025? With our global presence and successes? With how easy it is to find information and fact-check online? Have some respect for our national dignity!”
The user argued against a middle-class Singaporean Chinese character being unable to speak English and the portrayal of the city state and the PAP as deceitful, among other matters.
