After Jensen Ackles’ comments about returning to Tracker, I’m reminded of what Justin Hartley told us about filming the finale
The weeks are counting down until Tracker returns on the 2024 TV schedule, hopefully picking up where the Season 1 finale left off with Colter facing a bombshell reveal about his own family. So far, there aren’t too many details about what’s coming beyond the good news about the premiere date, but Jensen Ackles has confirmed that he’ll be back as Russell Shaw at the start of Season 2. Looking back at what the former Supernatural actor has shared, I can’t help but remember what Justin Hartley told CinemaBlend back in the spring about filming the finale.
Jensen Ackles confirmed his return on Instagram, allaying any fears that his upcoming spinoff of The Boys would prevent him from returning to Tracker. His caption reads about filming the second episode of the CBS hit series: Love this beautiful city! Thanks @justinhartley and everyone at @trackercbs. Always amazing! 🫶🏼See you next time. See you when I see you.
Admittedly, the caption was really just a quick way to announce his return without giving away any of the details about how Tracker will be hosting Russell and Colter, but Ackles’ reference to Vancouver as a “beautiful city” reminded me of Justin Hartley when he shared about filming on location to end Season 1. I was lucky enough to talk to the star in the spring for the Season 1 finale, including about his This Is Us reunion and the dire situation Colter finds himself in. He also shared how he recruited Jensen Ackles to play his on-screen brother and how he juggled his busy schedule when Tracker became a hit.
Having watched the finale at the time, I found myself wanting to watch it a second time just to fully appreciate the scenery across the water as Colter completes his quest to find his friend’s daughter. Hartley responded: It’s beautiful, right? In a way, it almost looks fake. Not in a bad way, but almost too beautiful to be [real]. Yeah, it’s unbelievable. And that’s one of the great things about our show. What we’re able to do is make the locations a character in the episode, especially the final scene, which I think is incredible.
Of course, the final scene was shot in a small town rather than Vancouver, but “beautiful” seems to be a recurring theme when filming Tracker. However, admitting that the beautiful location was also the site of a death in the final scene, Hartley joked: What a place! If you have to go. I mean, hopefully you don’t get killed, but if you have to go, that’s one way to do it.
Colter isn’t laughing at the end of the hour after learning some disturbing news about his father and that his sister knows more than she’s letting on in the episode, which also stars Melissa Roxburgh as Dory Shaw. The finale ends with Colter grabbing his surfboard and running into the water as the sun sets, with The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” playing on the soundtrack.
The scene is impressive, but after the emotional adventure of the episode, it’s understandable why he just needed a break to go surfing. Justin Harltey has his own take: I think maybe – is he surfing? Or is he just going straight out to sea and sinking? [laughs] I don’t know. We’ll see. Hopefully he knows how to surf, because it’s a long swim to get to the other side.
Now, months later, it won’t be long before fans return to Colter’s thoughts after what he learned in the Season 1 finale. Jensen Ackles hasn’t said whether he’ll appear in the Season 2 premiere, but it’s safe to assume his episode will be early in the season. The show also needs to set up a character exit after announcing the actor’s departure over the summer.
Tracker returns to CBS for Season 2 on Sunday, October 13 at 8 p.m. In the meantime, you can always rewatch the entire first season — including the tense but beautiful finale — streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
