Tracker Season 2 Loses Robin Weigert; It’s a Setback for the Show
In a real shocker, “Tracker” will enter its second season without one of its most important cast members. TVLine exclusively revealed that Robin Weigert is leaving the series, meaning Teddi Bruin will no longer be a regular on the show. However, Teddi’s wife, Velma (Abby McEnany), will be staying on, in a move that only makes the show’s second season awkward—and leaves Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) without one of his handlers.
To be fair, the show set up Teddi’s departure in the Season 1 finale by pairing Velma with Reenie (Fiona Rene), who quit her law job to work on a mysterious new project. But Teddi has become such a vital part of Colter’s world that it’s completely unthinkable that Velma would continue without her. Sure, this could open the door for Colter to get another handler, but is that what the show needs?
In fact, it would likely unbalance the show’s chemistry, the very thing that propelled it to the top of the Nielsen ratings as the season’s No. 1 new drama. This is a terrible move for a show that doesn’t need any change as it approaches its second season. And it spells major trouble for fans who have come to enjoy the dynamic between its characters.
It’s hard to imagine Teddi without Velma…
The worst part about this sudden departure is the inevitable impact it will have on Velma and Teddi’s marriage. They’ve been a steady, calming influence in Colter’s nomadic life as he helps others and makes money tracking down missing individuals. But Velma and Teddi have also been a vital lifeline to Colter’s missions: they provide him with the information he needs to figure out where to go, who his clients are, and what’s coming next. Velma could work just fine on her own, but there’s something unique about them working as a couple that adds character to the show.
Sure, the pair were brought into the background in the last few episodes of Season 1; the longer Colter is out in the field, the less he needs to be fed information, because he already knows how to find the next piece of the puzzle he’s been piecing together over the course of the series. But even the best shows tend to have trouble breaking up a couple when one actor leaves and the other stays. While Teddi may always be on duty, Velma losing her or going through a divorce would be a difficult turning point for the show to handle at this point in its early run.
…And Colter Without Teddi
We all know Colter Shaw can handle himself, but he definitely needs his friends in the field to make sure every case runs smoothly. He has Bobby Exley (Eric Graise) to help him with technical issues, and Reenie to help him with any legal issues he might encounter. But it remains to be seen whether he only needs one handler—and whether Velma could bail him out of jail or find him a new client as easily as she and Teddi. There’s something about Colter’s chemistry with his entire team that makes shuffling the deck a nerve-wracking proposition, and one wonders if the audience will accept that.
Much of the show balances itself around Colter’s field work, and the time away from him struggles to justify it. But Teddi is the one who keeps Colter on track for the most part, so losing her is like losing the brakes on a train. If Velma is the cheerleader, Bobby is the skill, and Reenie is the law, who is the smart-but-prepared center who knows everyone and knows everyone?
The audience has grown to love Teddi, too
The hardest part of this situation is that the audience has grown to love Teddi. Just count the disappointed fans in TVLine’s comments section and you’ll find people who are downright upset that the show couldn’t give Robin Weigert enough to do by the end of the season. Teddi is cool and hot, and Weigert excels at both, so losing her so quickly during the show’s run is a failure on CBS’s part and the imagination of the show’s producers. Breaking up another on-screen gay couple so soon after the cancellation of “NCIS: Hawai’i” is also a bad move.
One never knows what might happen at the end of the show; perhaps Teddi will return for a guest appearance or two while Weigert takes time off and she’s between other roles. In any case, it seems like “Tracker” will change shape as it develops — and that could be a good or bad thing in the long run. Fans
