I’m More Excited About Tracker Season 2 After Surprise Subplot Update
Tracker Season 2 is on the way, and while I expected it to be good, I’m even more excited now after the surprise subplot update—or lack thereof, as the case may be. Tracker Season 1 was, to put it bluntly, a huge hit for CBS. Tracker was so beloved by CBS viewers that it was greenlit for Season 2 after just four episodes of Season 1, and star Justin Hartley may have accidentally confirmed Tracker Season 3 before Season 2 aired. Clearly, the network is fully behind Colter Shaw and his team.
However, despite such a huge success, there’s no guarantee that Tracker Season 2’s story will be as easy to flesh out or as successful. That’s why I was so happy to read a recent interview with the showrunners and producers about their focus on season 2 — specifically, that goal won’t waver. That has to do with how they’ll handle any potential spinoffs and when they think it’ll be beneficial for the show.
The big news about a Tracker spinoff is that there isn’t one — at least not right now. Executive producers Elwood Reid and Ken Olin, who are also producers on Tracker, have addressed the possibility of a spinoff and confirmed that no spinoff is in the works. As Olin put it: “Elwood and I, we’re pretty happy to do this [show]. It’s a weird show to do a spinoff on. But it’s like, it’s not as easy to break out anymore…. I mean, look, Dick Wolf was really successful and all that, but are those [shows] old too?”
To me, it’s surprising that there isn’t a spinoff in the works, if not in development. Tracker is CBS’s biggest new hit in years, and it’s a procedural. Almost every procedural has a spinoff or two, from the vast Law & Order universe to CBS’s other new hit, Fire Country, which got a spinoff, Sheriff Country, after its second season. Given how popular Tracker has proven to be, it seems like it was tailor-made to be the next network procedural to get some kind of spinoff. Still, I think it’s great that it doesn’t have a spinoff, as strange as it may sound.
While I like Tracker and would – eventually – like a spinoff, why I’m glad it doesn’t have a spinoff right now all depends on Reid’s explanation for why it doesn’t have a spinoff yet. That’s a really smart way to think about it: “It’s funny because all my friends are like, ‘You have to start thinking about doing a spinoff.’ Second seasons are hard. I’ve seen that with shows, when they split them up too early, both shows have problems. The show is so special with Justin [at the center], so it’s really important that we continue to expand the world, expand the cases, and [expand] what Tracker can do for shows — unlike a New York or Chicago cop show where they’re always solving a murder — I can go into any world, I can go into auto racing, I can go into Nashville, I can go into any world I want.”
For how networks and especially streaming services are so fond of canceling these days, it often takes a season for a show to really find its footing, even popular ones.
When he said it that way, I had to look at it that way and I realized he was absolutely right. Reid makes a great point. He’s right about shows pushing for a spinoff too quickly. With networks and especially streaming services being so fond of canceling these days, it often takes a season for a show to really find its footing, even popular ones. We certainly saw that with Tracker, which lost a lead actor before season 2. While Tracker was well received, it obviously wasn’t without some hiccups, which is normal. It’s smart to give it some breathing room.
Running a hit show is a huge job. It requires total focus and everyone is on board until the show is stable and firmly on its path. I really appreciate Reid and Olin confirming that they’re fully committed to Tracker season 2 to ensure its success, rather than letting their attention be distracted. This is a trap that too many showrunners fall into, and we’ve seen what happens when producers are pulled in too many directions, whether it’s Kevin Feige being spread too thin between Marvel TV and film, or Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe starting to feel weighed down by too many projects. Luckily, we won’t have to worry about that fate for Tracker.
When will Tracker get its first potential spinoff? Season 2 could be set
