February 11, 2024 (2024-02-11) – present (present)
Tracker is an American action drama television series created by Ben H. Winters and based on the 2019 novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.[1][2] The series stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a skilled survivalist and tracker who earns his living by assisting law enforcement and private citizens in exchange for reward money. Hartley is joined by principal cast members Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, and Fiona Rene.
The series is produced by 20th Television and was given a series order in December 2022, after initially being picked up for a pilot in July 2022. It was filmed in British Columbia, Canada, leveraging the scenic locales of the Vancouver metro area, and in Vancouver Film Studios. Winters and Hilary Weisman Graham served as showrunners.[3]
Tracker premiered on February 11, 2024, followingSuper Bowl LVIII on CBS.[4] In March 2024 the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on October 13, 2024.[5][6]
Cast and characters
Main
Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw,[7] a lone-wolf survivalist with extensive tracking skills who travels the country as a "rewardist." Shaw makes his living aiding law enforcement and private citizens in exchange for reward money.[2]
Prestyn Bates as young Colter Shaw
Robin Weigert as Teddi Bruin (season 1),[8][9] who act as one of Colter's handlers, finding cases for him to take and doing background research for him while on cases
Abby McEnany as Velma Bruin,[8] Teddi's wife and Colter's second handler
Eric Graise as Bobby Exley,[8][10] a hacker who assists Shaw from a technical standpoint[11]
Fiona Rene as Reenie Greene,[10] an attorney who assists Shaw in legal matters
Colter Shaw is a professional "tracker" who lives off reward money for finding missing people. After rescuing a hiker in Nevada, Colter receives a mission from his co-handler Teddi to find 14-year-old Gilbert Brown, believed to be with his non-custodial father Edward. Colter contacts tech expert Bobby and learns Gilbert agreed to meet with his father at a restaurant. After entering the security room, Colter learns Gilbert is not with his father before being arrested. Teddi contacts attorney Reenie, who gets Colter released. Bobby tells Colter that Edward died months ago and learns from Edward's rehab friends that the kidnapper is Jack Horvath, another patient who impersonated Edward so Gilbert would lead him to money Edward buried. Colter enters the forest and finds Gilbert handcuffed to a truck. Jack arrives, and Colter convinces him to hand over the handcuffs key, but a police helicopter appears, leading Jack to shoot Colter in the shoulder and flee in his truck. Jack hops into the bed, and after a police chase Jack shoots himself, causing the truck to slide partially off a cliff. The two fall into the water below and survive. After calls from his brother Russell, Colter visits their father's grave.
Colter's mother tells him someone broke into his father's office. In Montana, accountant Jackson Cheong is missing after quitting his job. Colter learns from Bobby that Jackson's girlfriend Rebecca is a con-artist. He goes to Rebecca's address and finds live security footage of various people, including Jackson. After being confronted by guards, Colter follows one to a conference where Rebecca is speaking to a cult led by a man named Seth. At the cult's commune, Colter agrees to meet Seth, who asks about Colter's father, before seeing Jackson. Jackson tells Colter he refuses to go home, so Colter gives him his number. Colter gets a text from Jackson to meet that night, but the cult leaders appear and tell him Jackson has been moved. Teddi tells Colter that Seth has photos of a former member he murdered when he tried to leave in his office. A cultist follows him, but Colter gains the upper hand and has the cultist drive him to Seth's office. He finds Jackson and shows him the photos, convincing him Rebecca is evil, but Rebecca finds them. Jackson tackles Rebecca, allowing Colter to get her gun. The cult leaders are arrested, and Jackson returns home.
Near Cascade, Idaho, Colter sees a man confronting a woman for leaving a poster for her sister, vanlifer Mia Stine, on his car, with Colter getting stabbed when he intervenes. He meets Kira Stine and the sheriff, the latter of whom believes Mia simply left town. Colter finds a trail camera and calls Bobby, but is confronted by the man from before, who tells him Mia wasn't sleeping in her van. Colter suspects Matt Winslow, a resort heir and rock-climber Mia had met. He goes to Matt's home, where he claims Mia ghosted him and gave him a note. Bobby tells Colter Mia's van was found on Winslow property. When Colter opens the van's door, he and Kira are shot at. He brings the sheriff to the van only to find it missing. Reenie arrives and tells Colter a man who sued the Winslows died, and that Mia was set to testify. They confront Matt, who admits that his parents' driver killed the plaintiff. Colter accuses Matt's mother of killing Mia, which she admits to doing to prevent Matt leaving Springland with her. Mia's body is found on Winslow property and Reenie tells Colter she got a call from Russell.
Reenie's friend Erika believes her son Noah ran away from his boarding school, so Reenie calls Colter to investigate. Colter interviews the school's headmaster and security chief Ritter, who believe Noah relapsed and fled looking for drugs. Noah's friend tells Colter he saw Noah arguing with school employee Zeke, and security footage shows Noah in Zeke's van. Bobby finds Zeke made several phone calls to a home, so Colter visits the address and meets Noah's girlfriend. The girlfriend says Zeke snuck Noah out to confront her abusive ex-boyfriend and former drug dealer Ray. Colter goes to the bar Noah and Ray went to, and the bouncer says Ray drove after Noah and Zeke following an argument. Colter discovers Zeke shot dead on a remote road and his crashed car nearby. He meets Ritter, and the two search for Noah before splitting. Colter encounters a wounded Noah and treats his injuries. Ritter is non-fatally shot by Ray, who finds Colter and Noah. Colter injures Ray in a shoot-out and the two flee. Noah reunites with his mother, Ritter survives his injuries, and Colter leaves a memento for Noah for his survival skills before leaving for Manhattan, Kansas.
16-year-old Stephanie Porter posts a reward to find a witness to testify at her father's second murder trial. Clay Porter was accused of killing his business partner Avery Ingram after discovering him running an underground poker game. An anonymous comment on Stephanie's fundraiser claimed to witness the murder. Colter enters the poker game, but it's raided by the police. After Reenie Greene bails him out, Colter questions a woman from the game, who says her friend Mallory witnessed the murder. Clay says Mallory was Avery's girlfriend and describes her vehicle. Teddi says Mallory sold her car in Kansas City. Meanwhile, Clay is shanked by another inmate. Reenie learns from Clay's lawyer Loutreau that Stephanie has been emailing him. In Kansas City, Colter finds Mallory's address and heads to speak with Mallory but is knocked out by her uncle. After Colter tells them his identity, Mallory identifies Avery's killer as Caesar Ashford and agrees to go back to St. Louis. Reenie tells Colter that Loutreau works for Caesar, but Loutreau kidnaps her. Realizing Loutreau and Caesar are tracking his phone, Colter heads to the meet point and knocks Caesar off the roof following a fight. Reenie is rescued, and with Mallory's testimony Clay will be acquitted of murder.
Colter is tasked to find kidnapped racehorse Argo by its caretaker Hugh Laslow, one of its four owners. The kidnapper also stole documents that allow Argo to race. If the horse were to win an upcoming race, it would secure a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Colter runs into Billie, a rival tracker on the same mission. She previously betrayed him in Miami, stealing the reward money and fleeing. Colter encounters Billie at an event held by another co-owner and the two break into a safe to no avail. Billie suggests teaming up, and Colter initially declines but changes his mind. Colter realizes the kidnapper rode Argo out of the farm. After questioning Argo's veterinarian they investigate Argo's former trainer but find him murdered, with Colter finding a tranquilizer nearby. They learn Argo was sterile and couldn't race, determining he was kidnapped for insurance. Billie and Colter escape a burning barn. Bobby finds an address that leads them to Argo, but co-owner Stuart Tyler holds them hostage. They disarm him and return Argo to Hugh. Stuart and the vet, who he was bribing, are arrested, and Argo's papers are found in Stuart's home, but the FBI freezes the bank account containing Billie and Colter's reward money.
Bobby asks Colter to find his friend, MMA fighter Sun Mai. Her gym's owner Art Arfabo suspects she was deported, but ICE says they have no record of this. Sun's mother mentions immigration lawyer George Prine, who Teddi and Velma find is actually conman Mark Johnson. Colter confronts Johnson, who says Sun was kidnapped by loan sharks. Colter sneaks into their van. The van makes an unexpected stop to drop off the money. Colter has Bobby pick him up and follow the van, which Colter left his phone in. It leads them to an underground fighting ring, which Sun is part of. Bobby follows Colter inside without him knowing. Colter convinces Sun to leave, but one of the sharks holds him at gunpoint. Bobby helps subdue him, but Art, who was the ringleader of the fighting ring, appears and holds the three hostage. Colter manages to disarm Art, who flees but is cornered by Bobby in his vehicle. Art is arrested, as is Mark, and due to his fraud Sun and her mother are eligible for U visas. Bobby offers to buy lunch for Colter and Reenie, but Colter leaves for a job in Sioux City.
In Maine, Colter is tasked with finding missing dock worker Ethan "Sully" Sullivan, who vanished weeks before his wedding. His fiancée Daniela says she overheard him arguing with a co-worker, Ryan Hopkins. The sheriff finds Sully's car and a necklace, but Colter concludes he wasn't inside when it crashed. Colter speaks to Ryan, and Bobby confirms the necklace's owner as Sully's ex-girlfriend. Colter visits her home but finds her murdered. Colter learns Sully was speaking to a man named Dougie Clemons, and he becomes suspicious of diner owner Chelsea. Colter and the sheriff enter Clemons' home and find evidence of a scuffle. Teddi tells Colter that Sully and Clemons had previously been involved in a robbery together. Colter tails Chelsea and discovers Ryan and Clemons giving Sully a gun at a shipyard. He finds a warehouse Sully moonlighted at and discovers a fentanyl robbery in progress. He finds Sully, who Clemons forced to assist in the robbery by threatening Daniela. The gun they gave was unloaded and a test of loyalty, which he had failed. Sully takes another gun and leaves to kill Clemons, but Colter talks him down. Clemons and Ryan are arrested, and Daniela's father invites Colter to the wedding.
Colter breaks into a house and confronts a man whom he suspects is involved in the disappearance of a girl named Gina Picket. Later he investigates the case of a family disappearance in Arkansas. Initial suspicion was that the family was kidnapped because the husband had recently won the lottery. Later it turns out that wife was in WITSEC for turning back on her ex-husband's family. With the help of US Marshalls, Colter retrieve the family.
While tracking a missing man on the hunt to find aliens, Colter goes missing. A worried Reenie calls in Colter's brother (Russell) to find him. Russell saves Colter and the two team up to find the missing man. They discover the man's disappearance might be part of a government cover-up. In the end, they locate the man and bring him home to his daughter after Russell has an encounter with the abducted who indicates Colter and Russell's Dad asked too many questions too.
Colter is hired to find a missing teenage girl named Emmaline, who recently moved to a mining town with her brother. After interviewing some of the townsfolk, Colter discovers that she is an herbalist and faith healer. It turns out Emmaline wandered onto the territory of the Drell Clan, drug dealers who wanted her to heal their father. Colter finds Emmaline and they escape, only for Colter to take a bolt in the side. At the end of the episode, Colter goes to collect his reward, only to find that Emmaline and her brother have left town, leaving only his money and something for his wound.
Colter is hired to find a group of four friends who disappeared during a camping trip. He finds one of them quickly, and while hiking to a waterfall the other three were going to, he meets a retired cop named Keaton, who is determined to close a cold case. After Colter helps Keaton with his case, the latter tags along to help Colter finish his job. It turns out that the other three, Coop, Monika, and her husband, were involved in a hit and run and Coop was about to come clean. Colter and Keaton stop Monika before she can throw Coop's body into a lake. At the end of the episode, Colter asks Keaton to look into the Picket case, and Reenie, who was in the area and helped a little, joins Colter for a drink.
Tracker is produced by 20th Television and based on Jeffery Deaver's 2019 novel The Never Game.[7] The series was picked up to pilot by CBS in July 2022.[1] In December 2022, it was given a series order.[2] In March 2023, the title of the series was changed to Tracker.[39] On March 4, 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.[5]
Casting
In January 2021, Justin Hartley joined the series as Colter Shaw.[7] In September 2022, Mary McDonnell was cast as Mary Dove Shaw.[40] That month, Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, and Eric Graise had also joined the series.[8] In April 2024, Melissa Roxburgh and Jensen Ackles were cast to guest star.[14][15] In August 2024, it was reported that Weigert is not returning as a series regular for the second season.[9] In September 2024, Floriana Lima was cast in a recurring role for the second season.[12]
Tracker premiered on February 11, 2024, on CBS in the United States as the lead-out show following Super Bowl LVIII (except in Kansas City, where Super Bowl postgame victory coverage led to the show airing on a sister station).[4] In Canada, the series aired in simulcast on CTV.[43] The second season premiered on October 13, 2024 on CBS.[6]
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 89% approval rating with an average rating of 6.8/10, based on 19 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Making great use of Justin Hartley's swaggering appeal, Tracker takes a spartan approach to a classic formula and yields a highly efficient entertainment."[44]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[45]
.svg){kind=tracking}
