Tracker’s Justin Hartley Breaks Down Season 2’s Premiere — and Teases Jensen Ackles’ Return in Episode 2
CBS’ Tracker has just introduced Colter Shaw’s white whale.
The Season 2 premiere — airing Sunday in its new time slot at 8/7c — reveals a decade-old case that still haunts Colter to this day: the disappearance of a young woman named Gina Picket, who was abducted from a shopping mall parking lot in 2014, likely by a shady guy named Frank (played by Justified’s Ryan Dorsey).
Every year, on the anniversary of Gina’s disappearance, Colter pays Frank a less-than-pleasant visit — the most recent of which ended with the usually calm bounty hunter strangling Frank. He also checks in with Gina’s sister Camille (played by Supergirl’s Floriana Lima), with whom we learn he’s having an affair. Camille is ready to put the past behind her, determined that she may never get closure. But Colter made a promise to Camille, and he’s determined to keep it.
Let’s start with the Gina Picket case—the white whale that Colter has been chasing for a decade. I’ve seen you say that this storyline stems from a desire to show Colter as a human being, not a superhero. Why was it important, going into Season 2, to show more of Colter’s human side?
Obviously, when we started this show, we were pulling characters from the book. And it was important to [fellow EP] Ken [Olin] and I to make sure that people had a reason to watch. We needed to give people a reason — to show them a reason — why they would watch this guy. He’s special, he’s really great at what he does… and it just became one of those things where, at the end of Season 1, you think to yourself, what we haven’t shown is that he’s not perfect. There’s something that happened that he can’t get to the bottom of, and it’s bothering him… he can’t let go of things. And I just thought that was a great thing to introduce to the character — the idea that this guy has suffered. For better or worse, he’s not going to let go of it, and I think that adds to the complexity of the character. It adds to the intrigue.
What can you tease about the relationship between Colter and Camille?
I mean, I think the relationship has changed based on the trauma bond. That’s exactly what it is — a trauma bond. It’s almost like — very, very sad, but like couples who lose a child and they can’t be together anymore because they see their child in the other person. It’s hard for Colter and Camille. When [Gina disappeared], he made a promise — and I don’t know if you noticed, but he never made a promise [to his clients] again. He said, “I’ll take her home… I’ll take him home.” He said, “I’ll do my best… to try.” That’s why. [This storyline] is constructed in a way that when you look at it, you’re like, “Oh my gosh, that was a pivotal moment in Colter’s life that changed the way he approached his work and his relationships with other people.”
Does the anger, or any unresolved emotions that he has related to Gina’s disappearance, affect the way he deals with his own family tragedy this year?
Well, he learns from everything, right? That’s what he does. He evolves. I think we saw at the end of Season 1 that the way he approaches how he deals with his mother, his brother, his sister—what they’ve told him, the alienation, the father—it all culminates when Russell comes to town. And it’s like, “Okay, so who lied to me now?” Without knowing that he’s doing that, Colter has actively alienated his entire family because he probably doesn’t want to talk about what [happened].
When Russell (played by frequent guest star Jensen Ackles) reappears in Episode 2, does Colter ask him about the secret stash of research papers and Dad’s journals that Dory has hidden away?
Well, Colter will tell him—and he will tell him for two reasons. Number one, so he knows. But I think, also, if [Russell] didn’t know [about it], what did he think about it? And if he did know [about it], why didn’t he tell Colter? Colter is very suspicious of everyone in his family right now, including Russell. I mean, they definitely broke up, and they definitely got back together, but they don’t necessarily keep in touch. They don’t call, they don’t write…. but I think his view of his brother has completely changed.
