As one of CBS’ biggest hits in recent years, Tracker has done well for the network in bringing a intense, stylized procedural into the mix, but some of its seasons have been better than others. Starring Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, who uses survivalist training he learned from his late father to work as a private investigator and locate missing people, Tracker has been captivating viewers since its debut in 2024. Bringing Hartley on board as both star and executive producer of Tracker after his turn in This Is Us was pivotal for the series, which primarily focuses on Shaw.
Tracker season 1 was quick to captivate viewers, quickly finding its footing and becoming CBS’ most-watched show on the network. Bringing all the elements of a great procedural together with an episodic format and mixing that with Hartley’s star power put the show on the map, and Tracker continued upping the ante as it continued. Though it’s had some missteps throughout its second and third seasons, Tracker has become one of the best dramas on network TV, and will continue to push its boundaries with its fourth season. While all are good, some Tracker seasons have done better than others.
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Season 2
2024-2025
Tracker season 2 had an impossible task to accomplish. After an impeccable first season of just 13 episodes, Tracker season 2 had to come in on the heels of the attention that Tracker season 1 had garnered and attempt to top it. While the show itself felt fundamentally the same throughout, it was clear that Tracker’s second season was searching for a way to establish itself more firmly, giving Colter a bit more backstory than he’d gotten throughout season 1. By bringing Russell Shaw (Jensen Ackles) back into the mix quickly during Tracker season 2, things started off quite strong.
Unfortunately, as Tracker dipped into its second season, the story was bogged down by a cold case that Colter couldn’t let go of. The Gina Picket storyline was a tough sell on Tracker. The story of a long cold case that Colter simply couldn’t crack trickled through the beginning of the season, bringing new lore into the universe that never really felt like it fit. Colter, who was on and off about resolving the case and also on and off with Gina’s sister, Camille Picket (Floriana Lima), brought the shame of not having solved the case into everything early on.
While the Gina Picket case eventually got resolved and brought Tracker back to solid ground, the toll it took on Tracker season 2 was immense. The story seemed to be Tracker’s way of attempting to build a long-game into its episodic style, but the issue that arose quickly was the knowledge that Colter’s own backstory was still something weighing heavy on viewers’ minds. While there wasn’t much resolution to what had been happening with his family of origin after meeting Russell and their younger sister, Dory Shaw (Melissa Roxburgh), bringing a secondary case into the mix felt like a distraction.
Tracker season 2 evened out by the end and still brought some fun elements into the mix. Colter’s relationships with both Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene) and Billie Matalon (Sofia Pernas) brought out different sides to his personality, and the resolution of Ashton Shaw’s mysterious death was a great ending to the season, but it stands as the Tracker season with the most struggle.
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Season 3
2025-2026
While season 2 struggled to find its balance, Tracker season 3 managed to get back on its feet quickly and finally resolved to even out the story as it plunged into the deep end surrounding Colter’s past. During the early episodes of Tracker, it was quickly established that Colter’s family history was difficult. His father was a survivalist who was clearly battling some mental health issues, and while he and his brother had the worst of what their dad had to offer, Colter had taken the skills he was taught as a child and built them into his tracking career.
As the seasons unfolded, it became clear that there was something fishy surrounding the late Ashton Shaw’s death, and when Colter came to discover more about what had happened to his father in the Tracker season 2 finale, it opened up the next season to deeply probe into his family mystery. The series was able to streamline its focus a bit more than in its previous year, with Tracker leaning into the parts of Colter’s life that had yet to be explored. On top of that, the show made some major shifts in its cast that helped resolve lingering issues.
Early on in Tracker’s run, Colter was flanked by his attorney on retainer, Reenie, as well as his handlers, Velma (Abby McEnany) and Teddi Bruin (Robin Weigert), and his personal hacker, Bobby Exley (Eric Graise). Throughout season 2, it was clear the structure wasn’t working as Weigert chose to leave ahead of the season, and Graise exited during. After season 2, McEnany left Tracker as well, and the show restructured, giving Reenie’s world a bit more weight with the addition of Colter’s new IT man, Randy (Chris Lee) and her own assistant, Mel (Cassady McClincy Zhang) to round things out.
With the season exploring more of Colter’s past in a psychological way that felt more present on screen than in the past, the fleshing out of the world of the show itself, and more focused concepts from episode to episode, Tracker season 3 felt like a well-balanced shift.
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Season 1
2024
Tracker’s first season was an incredible feat for network TV drama. With a 13 episode order to tell its story, the show got underway quickly, laying out its premise and making itself clear to audiences within its very first hour. The series was a fresh, interesting take on the private investigator procedural, and while it was full of tropes that weren’t exactly new to the genre, the show often felt refreshing in its take on its cases of the week. Colter, a complicated and stoic main character, was someone that viewers were eager to get to know despite his nature.
As Tracker rolled out its shortest season to date, each episode felt like it was better than the last. The consistent improvement in quality was great to see, and the series itself felt like a sustainable model. As the season continued, viewers also got to learn more about Colter’s life. From his quasi-romance with Reenie to his difficulties with his family, especially his then-estranged brother Russell, everything we learned about Colter throughout the first season felt like original. While the show’s stories could feel formulaic from time to time, the way Tracker covered its cases often saved it from stagnation.
The biggest draw to Tracker throughout all of its seasons has been Hartley’s performance, as Colter is the obvious main character that viewers are most invested in. Coming off of his success on This Is Us, seeing Hartley in a role that used his charisma in an entirely different light was fascinating. Colter is such a completely different character than Hartley’s past roles that it felt exciting to see him embody a broody, dark, stoic investigator. While Colter may be infuriating to watch sometimes, seeing Hartley’s choices in the role has never been more exciting than in Tracker’s first season.
While Tracker season 1 wasn’t an entirely perfect season of TV, its shorter length made its storylines feel more urgent. The cases were fresh, and with viewers still getting to know Colter at his core, Tracker’s first outing made it clear that the show had the makings for a long-haul drama viewers would be tuning into for ages.
- Release Date
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February 11, 2024
- Showrunner
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Elwood Reid
- Writers
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Ben H. Winters, Hilary Weisman Graham