‘Tracker’s’ Justin Hartley Confirms Jensen Ackles Will Return for Season 2: “We’ve Got Him. He’s Coming Back.”
Don’t worry, Tracker fans! The Shaw Brothers are back for Season 2. Fans of CBS’ hit Tracker, starring Justin Hartley and executive produced by the late Justin Hartley, were thrilled when the series finally introduced Russell—the estranged brother of Hartley’s character Colter—in Season 1. Why? Well, he’s important to the plot, of course. But he’s also played by Supernatural star (and Hartley’s real-life friend) Jensen Ackles!
The two actors have great chemistry, and with so many unresolved emotions and unanswered questions about the Shaw family secret and Colter’s father’s death, fans are excited to see Ackles return—and are hoping to share the screen with Hartley and Melissa Roxburgh, who plays Colter and Russell’s sister, Dory.
After Tracker’s Season 1 finale, Hartley confirmed that he wanted both guest stars to return for Season 2, but after Ackles was recently cast as the lead in the new Prime Video series Countdown, fans are concerned that scheduling conflicts could prevent him from returning to the CBS shows.
During a July 13 panel at the Television Critics Association’s Summer 2024 press tour, Hartley confirmed that despite his exciting new role, Ackles will still be back for Season 2. “We’ve got him. He’ll be back.” Hartley told TCA members. “So we’re having fun with that. It’s going to be great. It’s a great story, too. As far as the number [of episodes], I don’t know.”
Executive producer and showrunner Elwood Reid added, “I’ve worked with Jensen before and Justin is his friend, so he’s almost like family. We texted him and he was like, ‘Tell me where. Tell me when.’ And he showed up. That’s just the kind of guy he is, and I’m really excited about this particular storyline this season… it’s going to be really fun.”
While the team didn’t share an exact episode count for Russell, they did confirm that Ackles will be returning for more than one episode in Season 2. They also confirmed that other Season 1 guest stars will be returning.
“That’s the goal, right? The people we saw last year — a lot of the characters that people loved last year, we’ll get to see them again,” Hartley said.
CBS revealed that Tracker’s extended 22-episode Season 2 will premiere on Sunday, October 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET, so fans can finally mark their calendars.
