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 concerns that his upcoming spinoff of The Boys would prevent him from returning to Tracker. Here’s what his caption had to say about filming the second episode of the CBS hit: Admittedly, that caption was really just a quick way to announce his return without giving away any of the details about how Tracker picked up Russell and Colter, but Ackles referring 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 was 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 network series. Having watched the finale at that point, I realized I would want to watch it a second time just to fully appreciate the scene on the water as Colter completes his quest to find his friend’s daughter. Hartley responded: 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 finale, which I think is incredible.
Of course, the finale was shot in a small town rather than Vancouver, but “beautiful” seems to be a recurring theme when filming Tracker. However, acknowledging that this beautiful location is also the site of someone dying 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 the way to do it.
Colter isn’t laughing at the end of the hour after he learns some disturbing news about his father and that his sister knows a lot more than she’s letting on in the episode, which stars Melissa Roxburgh as Dory Shaw. The final scene 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 journey of the episode, it’s understandable why he just needed a break to go surfing. Justin Harltey has his own take on it: 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 he’s got a long way to go 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 debut early in the season. The show also needs to set up a character’s departure after the actor’s departure was announced 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—by streaming it with a Paramount+ subscription.
