Tracker: Justin Hartley’s Hit Series Is Actually Based on a Book
Jeffery Deaver’s The Never Game provided the inspiration for CBS’ Tracker.
Tracker is quickly become a new hit TV series for CBS, and its popularity is leading fans to wonder about its origin. Like Reacher and many other popular TV shows right now, Tracker is indeed based on a series of novels. However, Tracker isn’t the actual title of the book series, so you may have had a hard time looking for them.
The new Tracker TV show is actually based on a character written by The Bone Collector author Jeffrey Deaver. Colter Shaw is the lead character in Deaver’s newest series, which kicked off with a book called The Never Game back in 2019.
Books have seen a resurgence lately, and a lot of TV and movie fans have sought out the books that their favorite titles are based on. With a show like Reacher, that can be difficult because Lee Child has over two dozen novels starring the Jack Reacher character, released over the past couple of decades. Deaver’s Colter Shaw series is substantially newer, which means there are fewer books and jumping into the series is less intimidating.
So far, Deaver has published four Colter Shaw novels: The Never Game, The Goodbye Man, The Final Twist, and Hunting Time. Like the Tracker TV series, Deaver’s books each center around Colter Shaw trying to find a missing person. The series also kept core parts of the Colter Shaw character intact, like his history in a survivalist family.
What Is Tracker About?
Hartley’s Colter Shaw is described as a “lone wolf” who drives around the country seeking rewards for missing people and personal belongings. The episodes follow Shaw on different cases in different places, and he runs into various characters along the way. You can check out the official synopsis below!
“Tracker stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country as a reward seeker, using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. The series is based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.”
Tracker Cast
Fiona Rene stars as Reenie, a lawyer who has a past with Colter and is consistently called on when he has run-ins with the law. Bobby, a hacker and tech expert, is played by Eric Graise. Robin Weigert and Abby McEnany play Teddi and Velma, respectively. The duo of animal lovers regularly find jobs for Colter and help him get in touch with the right people to solve a problem.
