Jensen Ackles to return for “Tracker” season 2: ‘We got him,’ says star Justin Hartley
Fans are also anticipating Ackles’ return for the final season of “The Boys.”
Soldier Boy might be frozen, but Russell Shaw is wide awake and ready for action.
Jensen Ackles is set to return as the estranged elder brother to Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw in season 2 of Tracker. During the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association 2024 Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., Hartley and executive producer Elwood Reid confirmed that they weren’t yet finished exploring the family drama between the two siblings, and would delve deeper when Ackles returned for a multi-episode arc the second season.
“We got him,” Hartley said of Ackles. “He’s coming back.”
As for how many episodes Ackles would return for, Hartley was unable to say but Reid did confirm that it would be “more than one.”
“It’s like family,” said Reid, at the event also attended by PEOPLE. “When we text him [he says], ‘Tell me where and tell me when,’ and he shows up. He’s just that kind of guy.”
A representative for Ackles didn’t immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment.
Ackles guest-starred in the penultimate episode of the first season, reuniting Colton with his brother just in time to prod at buried family history ahead of the finale. Reid also hinted that more family drama lies on the horizon, teasing the return of Manifest actress Melissa Roxburgh as Colter’s younger sister, Dory per TVLine.
The CBS series centers on Hartley’s Colter Shaw, an experienced survivalist and talented tracker who travels the country in his RV, using his skills to help civilians and law enforcement solve crimes and find missing people. When Colter last teamed up with Russell, his brother sought his help to find a missing army buddy.
Tracker isn’t the only series that the Supernatural alum is expected to return to. Ackles previously appeared in season 3 of The Boys, the satirical superhero series from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke that is currently gearing up for its fifth and final season. Though his stint as Solider Boy — a filthy-mouthed World War II-era, Captain America-esque supe — ended with his being taken out of commission, Kripke previously told EW that he was purposefully leaving the door open for Ackles to return.
“The old TV adage is like, never kill anyone unless you really, really have to. Never close a door, open a window,” Kripke said at the time. “We’ll all have to wait and see, but I can’t imagine the series ending without Soldier Boy making another appearance.”
Ackles has since reprised Soldier Boy for a cameo in spinoff series Gen V but his return to the mothership-series is much anticipated thanks to the promise of a full-blown Winchester family reunion. Ackles’ Supernatural dad Jeffrey Dean Morgan recently joined the show for its fourth season and Kripke has teased the increasing likelihood of Sam Winchester himself, Jared Padalecki, landing a spot on the show as well.
