Tracker Season 2 Trailer Makes Me Realize the Most Important Change Justin Hartley’s CBS Series Needs
When I watched the Tracker season 2 trailer, I realized that the CBS series needed a major change to make it even better. Justin Hartley stars in the series as Colter Shaw, a self-proclaimed “reward man” living on the streets, doing his unconventional job of finding missing people in exchange for reward money from his Airstream trailer. In Tracker season 1, Colter traveled across the United States, with a new location in each episode. Tracker season 2 will add a full season of episodes with the same premise, adding even more locations to Colter’s mobile repertoire.
The stunning scenery in each episode of Tracker season 1 contributed to the immersive experience that Hartley’s procedural series provided. Since Colter has a mobile operation, his team supports him remotely, managing his business, scouting for new opportunities, and providing “reward” with important intelligence while he’s out in the field. While most parts of Tracker’s winning formula remain the same, there’s a significant opportunity for a subtle, groundbreaking change. The Tracker season 2 trailer released before the first season premiere shows Colter back on the open road. He briefly took a break at the end of Tracker season 1 after returning several missing people to their loved ones during the show’s first run. Returning to a key theme from the show’s first season, the Tracker season 2 trailer shows Colter Shaw operating in remote locations before the season 2 premiere. Colter’s penchant for working in these areas was established in the show’s first season, with most of the episode titles reflecting Colter’s location.
In Tracker season 1, Colter took his bounty hunting operations to places like Klamath Falls, Oregon; Missoula, Montana; and Cascade, Idaho. The wide-open spaces of the American West are perfect for Colter’s operations, as people are likely to get lost in these large, remote locations. Colter’s Airstream trailer and large GMC pickup are perfect for the wide-open spaces and less so in crowded cities where mobile parking complicates his work.
While the great outdoors and vast open spaces make up Colter Shaw’s best moments, the series needs to vary them from time to time. Occasionally, I’d like to see Colter Shaw search for a missing person in a crowded city, which would diversify the show’s action premise. The series is self-aware of its preference for more rural areas, as evidenced by a joke Colter’s handlers make at the end of Tracker season 1, episode 4, “Mt. Shasta.” At the end of the episode, as Colter figures out his next job, his handlers tease him in a charming way. At the end of “Mt. Shasta,” Colter’s handlers joke that they’re sending him to Manhattan, asking, “How do we feel about Manhattan?” Colter assumes his handlers mean New York City, to which he replies, “New York City? Where am I supposed to park this thing?” The problem is that tracking extends to the big city: Colter’s mobile operation is built for the wide, open highways of the deserted United States. That said, Tracker needs to add more cities in season 2 to diversify its offerings.
Colter visited a few urban centers in Tracker’s season 1. However, it would take special circumstances to bring Colter into the city. Colter took cases in St. Louis, Mo.; Chicago, Illinois; and Lexington, Kentucky, in season 1. That said, Colter taking his operations to more densely populated destinations is the exception to his operations, not the rule. Colter needs to visit more urban areas in Tracker’s season 2 to diversify the landscape he navigates and the people he meets. Additionally, the series should eventually pay off its Manhattan tease by bringing Colter’s reward operations to New York City.
A hub like Portland or Seattle would be a great place to start Tracker’s season 2. However, given the bounty hunters’ tendency to seek rewards in the western United States, there are still plenty of cities that Colter could visit on the West Coast. Colter was last seen in Oregon in the Tracker season 1 finale, and as such, he could take a job in a city closer to his current home. I’d love to see Colter in a major city, and a hub like Portland or Seattle would be a great place to start Tracker season 2.
