In 2024, audiences were captivated by CBS’s newest drama, Tracker. As the title suggests (and starring Justin Hartley, a former star of This Is Us and Smallville, as the “reward” Colter Shaw), the show isn’t your typical cop drama or lone wolf story. As each episode takes Colter to a new city with new problems, Tracker’s first season slowly reveals some dark truths about the Shaw family’s tumultuous past, and it takes a while to get to the big picture. But that’s part of the reason we love shows like Tracker. Its self-contained storylines propel our favorite characters forward, with only a few episodes providing a sense of mystery in the background. As Season 2 approaches, it’s time to look back at Tracker Season 1 and remember where we left off with Colter Shaw.
As we learned in the first episode of Tracker, Colter Shaw is a man on a mission. Actually, a lot of missions. “We’re all looking for something,” he often says in the first few episodes, reminding the people who hired him that he won’t quit until they get answers. Most of Colter Shaw’s TV adventures are stand-alone, and even the show’s murder mystery adventures don’t focus too much on that aspect (for the show’s sake, we might add). But it’s not long before we discover why Colter is so determined to help others (for a tidy sum of money, of course) find their lost items and loved ones. Back in his youth, his father, Ashton Shaw (Lee Tergesen), moved their family off the grid to get away from a supposed government conspiracy, only to suddenly die during a thunderstorm. Looking back now, Colter thinks his father has lost his sanity and believes his brother, Russell (Jensen Ackles), was the one who killed him.
From the start, Russell makes surprising attempts to contact Colter, calling multiple times without success. Colter’s mother, Mary Dove Shaw (Wendy Crewson), encourages her son to ignore his brother (whom she told him to leave 20 years ago), and Colter seems happy to do so. That is until Colter is encouraged by his sister Dory (Melissa Roxburgh) to let Russell back in. When he does, Russell explains that he did not kill their father and that there was more going on in their childhood than either of them fully understand. Even Dory, in “Beyond the Campus Walls,” seems to have more potential information about the government’s control over their father, leaving Colter to wonder who is telling the truth. In the season finale, “The Storm,” Colter learns from a family friend, Lizzie Hawking (Jennifer Morrison), that his mother and her father were having an affair, which could provide a potential explanation for Ashton’s sudden and brutal death.
On the other hand, Russell’s involvement with some shady military type of his own makes us wonder if the murder of Ashton Shaw was something else entirely. At this point, we have more questions than answers, but it’s worth noting that, with Colter bringing his brother back into his life, there’s a chance there will be more Shaw family reunions in Season 2—especially since Russell and Dory will be back. Notoriously secretive about his personal and professional life, Colter has refused to share much of it with his close-knit group of colleagues—which includes handlers Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma Bruin (Abby McEnany), tech guru Bobby Exley (Eric Graise), and attorney Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene). Despite this, Reenie has found some cracks in Colter’s armor and tried to worm her way deeper into his life, which could just factor into the next season.
Speaking of Reenie, it’s clear from the earliest episodes of Tracker that there’s some sort of romantic connection between her and Colter. As of the first season, the show hasn’t fully committed to an active Colter/Reenie relationship, but there’s plenty of close calls and longing glances between the two. And constant banter. Colter is always willing to put himself in harm’s way to protect Reenie, and not just because it’s his job. As Tracker’s female lead, Reenie’s role on the show has evolved quickly, and the character has been featured in more episodes throughout the first season. Given the great chemistry between Fiona Rene (who was written out of Fire Country too early) and Justin Hartley, the smart minds behind the CBS series may be hoping to hold off on officially kicking off their romance until the right time. Hopefully, that means sometime in Season 2.
