Where is Tracker Filmed? The Setting and Locations of Justin Hartley’s Hit CBS Show Explained
CBS’s Tracker follows Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw as he travels across the United States to solve various cases, but the show is largely shot on location (and not in the United States). The action-packed drama created by Ben H. Winters, based on Jeffery Deaver’s 2019 novel The Never Game, also centers on Colter, a survivalist who makes his living solving civil cases and consulting with local law enforcement to find lost people and objects. As a result, Colter is always on the move, never staying in one place for too long.
In addition to Hartley, the cast of Tracker includes Fiona Rene, Abby McEnany, and Eric Graise, with special appearances by celebrities like Jensen Ackles and Jennifer Morrison. Since this is a serialized series and Colter travels across the country to pursue his career, each episode features a new group of characters. However, they all converge on one city to film most of Tracker — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Since Tracker seasons 1 and 2 were produced in Vancouver, it was natural for the cast and crew to use the famous Vancouver Film Studios facility, which produces many films and television shows. Vancouver Film Studios opened in 1997 and since then, thousands of projects have used its soundstages to shoot various scenes. Films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fifty Shades of Grey, Elf, X-Men: The Last Stand, Deadpool, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and many more have been shot at Vancouver Film Studios.
Everything that couldn’t be shot on location for Justin Hartley’s action TV show was filmed at Vancouver Film Studios.
In addition to Tracker, TV shows like Fringe, Arrow, Bates Motel, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and CBS’s Fire Country have also used Vancouver Film Studios to film episodes. So the facility is a popular choice for film crews. Everything that couldn’t be shot on location for Justin Hartley’s action-drama was filmed at Vancouver Film Studios. Some of Colter Shaw’s best moments in Tracker season 1 were definitely captured on set, like when he breaks into the Burger Bin office in the first episode. The cast of Tracker takes advantage of the diverse and spectacular landscapes and locations of Vancouver (and the Greater Vancouver Area) throughout the series. Since the CBS action-drama is supposed to take place in multiple locations, the crew uses the various cities, beaches, forests, mountains, etc. in the Greater Vancouver Area to act as different cities across the United States. For example, when Colter traveled to Chicago, Illinois, for Tracker season 1, episode 7, the cast filmed scenes in Vancouver’s Chinatown to recreate the Windy City.
Other locations the Tracker crew scouted for season 1 included Belcarra Quarry, Maple Ridge, Cleveland Dam, George Wainborn Park, and Simon Fraser University (according to Atlas of Wonders). They traveled throughout the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan Area to capture footage for episodes of the CBS show. The cast will return to Vancouver to film Tracker season 2. The first scene in the first episode of Tracker season 1 was reportedly filmed at the McAbee Fossil Beds, located just east of Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada. As fans may recall, the show opens with Colter Shaw rescuing a hiker in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, cementing his role as a survivalist and expert tracker. However, this scene wasn’t actually filmed in Nevada, and luckily, Canada has a location that can be compared to the Black Rock Desert.
The majority of the season 1 finale of Tracker was filmed in Tofino, a small town on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Technically, the episode was filmed in Sandy Point, Oregon, a fictional coastal town. So Tofino’s beaches (including Chesterman Beach, where Colter meets Jennifer Morrison’s Lizzy Hawking) and coastline made it the perfect location to play Sandy Point. Ultimately, the cast and crew of Tracker traveled all over the Vancouver Metropolitan Area to film, making the list of filming locations endless and ever-growing.
