Ahead of its premiere, Tracker season 2 got a major makeover, and while it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, I was worried that it could negatively impact the show’s future. Starring Justin Hartley, CBS’s newest magic show broke viewership records to become the most-watched show of the 2023-2024 television season. What makes the show that much more impressive is the fact that it’s essentially a new IP on the small screen. Based on Jeffery Deaver’s 2019 novel The Never Game, Tracker follows Hartley’s Colter Shaw as he helps track down missing people in exchange for money.
As a longtime fan of magic tricks, Tracker piqued my curiosity from the get-go. In a way, it brings something unique and fresh to the storytelling format because it’s not a cop or medical drama. Instead, it follows one character, who is given a mission each week while the larger mystery of his family is slowly revealed. As someone who also watched Hartley on This Is Us, it’s great to see him back on the small screen. I’m excited for Tracker season 2, but there’s one thing that worries me about the airing time.
Due to the 2023 Hollywood strike, Tracker premiered after Super Bowl LVIII and ran through May. Overall, the show only aired 13 episodes, which is significantly less than a TV show. However, given the current climate, that’s the norm for all other traditional broadcast projects over the past year. Personally, I don’t mind Tracker season 1 being shorter, as it was able to deliver a solid year. When it comes to season 2, however, the show will have a steady stream of episodes, as it airs from fall 2024 to spring 2025. If Tracker season 2 follows the usual episode count that long-running TV shows get, I expect the show to have more than 20 episodes. That’s double what it’s already offered, meaning the show will have more time to tackle weekly cases that don’t always tie into the larger mystery surrounding the Shaw family history. This is especially important, as Jensen Ackles’ latest Amazon Prime Video project hopes to see Russell Shaw make more appearances in Tracker’s main cast. Normally, I’d be excited to see more episodes of a show I like. But that’s not the case with Tracker. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still excited to see more of Hartley’s adventures as a potential bonus. My interest stems from the show’s unique premise. Procedural shows have the ability to run for years because their weekly format allows for variety in their stories. However, most of them are also ensemble shows, meaning the workload is split between multiple characters. But CBS’s latest hit is not.
Tracker lives and dies with Hartley’s Colter Shaw.
Tracker lives and dies with Hartley’s Colter Shaw. Although he has a remote crew, he essentially works alone. Logistically, this is risky. If Hartley can’t work, production will grind to a halt. Shooting 13 episodes in the first year is very different from shooting nearly double that for season 2 and beyond. Ensuring Tracker’s longevity means the series will need to expand its storylines at some point in the future to ensure it can continue with Hartley’s minimal involvement, giving him time to rest.
Looking at viewership, Tracker season 1 did everything right, even dethroning NCIS as the most-watched show last year. That doesn’t mean it can’t improve as it moves into its second year. Since Colter is its sole main character, the creators behind the show need to find ways to keep him interesting throughout his run. That could be through putting him in a variety of situations that challenge his mental and physical abilities or seeing him develop relationships with others.
Beyond Colter, however, expanding the show isn’t just good for Hartley’s filming stamina, it’s also good for keeping the procedural fresh. Tracker has introduced a number of interesting characters – both allies and foes of Rewarded. Developing their characters further would be a great way to give viewers more reasons to like the project. So while it doesn’t necessarily change the current focus on Colter, Tracker could still try other storytelling avenues to freshen up the story when the search for missing people starts to get boring.
