There’s something to be said for a first-season show where the struggle is real to find many negatives.
It’s rare for a television series to have a perfect season, and we’re certainly not going to say that Tracker Season 1 didn’t have any flaws, but the show had a damn good start.
Justin Hartley was perfectly cast as reward seeker Colter Shaw, an independent man with a fractured family who devoted his life to travel, solitude, and helping to find missing people, sometimes even when they didn’t necessarily want to be found.
The action drama was refreshing because it differed from the typical procedurals found everywhere else.
Tracker had cases of the week, but they were far from typical, and just the sheer fact that Colter took cases all over the country made for episodes that were wildly different from one week to the next.
Changes in scenery and fresh guest stars every week never allowed the series to become stagnant, and while the supporting cast was severely underused at times when they did show up, they helped to humanize Colter as people who knew him better than the strangers he met in small towns across America.
CBS picked up Tracker for season 2 fairly early in its freshmen run, an excellent sign for the series and the faith the network had in its latest hit.
As we wait for fall 2024, we’re looking back at the season and breaking down some brighter and lower spots, so come check out our report card.
Best Episode – Tracker Season 1 Episode 12: Off the Books
From the pilot forward, Rusell Shaw was just a name we heard pretty regularly, as Colter’s oldest sibling (and possible killer) was spoken about often as he sought to get in touch with Colter.
But we never saw him.
That all changed when Russell showed up during this hour.
He wanted to do more than talk to Colter about their past; he also needed his help.
We’ll chat about Jensen Ackles’s appearance a little later (hint, hint, he was one of the brighter spots), but he added a major jolt to the season’s final hours and gave us some vital information about the Shaw Family drama.
