‘Tracker’ Is Best When This Element Takes a Backseat
With Tracker’s first season now wrapped up, it’s clear that the role of “rewardist” Colter Shaw was just the kind of part that Justin Hartley was born to play. With some exciting action moments that pull from his time on Smallville to some meaty character drama that echoes his work on This Is Us, there are a lot of reasons to believe that Tracker is, in many ways, the culmination of Hartley’s career thus far. The actor has masterfully adapted the Jeffrey Deaver character to the screen and given him new life on network television. But there’s one thing in particular about Tracker that makes this show stand out: the masterful balance between the show’s standalone adventures and Colter Shaw’s mysterious history.
‘Tracker’ Excels at Balancing Standalone and Mythology Plots
The longer many procedurals go, the harder it can be to balance the over-arching plot with the specific events of standalone episodes. In the case of many productions (and this is particularly true of genre shows such as The X-Files or Supernatural), elements from the show’s greater mythology will end up bleeding their way into what would’ve otherwise been a standalone story. In our streaming age of serialized television, finding week-by-week productions that tackle new concepts and/or ideas in each episode rather than pulling from the same threads can be challenging. Tracker has been compared to shows like Reacher in the past because of its basic premise, but that comparison ultimately falls short since the Prime Video series takes one Jack Reacher novel and spreads it out over a whole season. Meanwhile, the CBS drama takes us to a new location (and a new mystery) in each episode. And that’s part of why it works so well.
As a sort of anti-procedural, Tracker’s weekly adventures are always engaging, and best reveal more about who Colter Shaw is as a character than anything we’ve learned of his past via flashbacks or family dialogue. This isn’t to say the overarching plotline isn’t important, it certainly is, but Tracker wisely follows the unspoken rules of network television by dragging these ideas out over time and letting fans digest them over longer stretches. Of course, that extends to the characters themselves also, as it gives Colter time to chew on any new information before directly confronting it. For Tracker, that time is vital. When compared to many of the well-produced serialized shows out there, such as Reacher or Jack Ryan, this might make Tracker sound dull on the surface, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Even in episodes like “Into the Wild,” which have nothing to do with the show’s central plot, Colter’s near-fatal confrontation with Peter Stormare’s Las Vegas mob enforcer makes the episode as vital and engaging as any other.
What makes Tracker exciting isn’t an all-entangling plotline, but rather the character of Colter Shaw.
Sometimes, Colter’s cases overlap slightly with his muddied family history, and when that happens, it’s always done with tact. In the case of the Season 1 finale, “The Storm,” this happens because of a family friend, Lizzy Hawking (played by Hartley’s former This Is Us co-star, Jennifer Morrison), whose mother was seemingly having an affair with Colter’s father, Ashton (Lee Tergesen). But although Lizzy reveals some of these dark family secrets at the very end of the episode, most of the plot doesn’t touch on this at all. Colter’s primary focus throughout is finding Lizzy’s missing daughter, and that’s exactly what he does. Here, with its very first season finale, Tracker solidifies itself as a case-by-case series first and foremost. This idea that Colter aimlessly wanders America in search of other people’s loved ones and possessions is what makes the show so compelling. Thus, the mysterious mythology often takes a backseat. What might’ve been the industry standard over a decade ago feels now almost like a quirk, but it’s one that Tracker rocks well.
Shaw Family Drama Is Necessary, but Not the Point on ‘Tracker’
Though we meet Colter’s mother, Mary Dove Shaw (Wendy Crewson), at the very beginning of the series, his siblings are largely strangers until the final batch of Season 1 episodes. In “Beyond the Campus Walls,” we’re introduced to Colter’s sister, Dory (Melissa Roxburgh), and in “Off the Books,” former Supernatural star Jensen Ackles is revealed to be the adult version of his older brother Russell. Both episodes are great, and each dives a bit deeper into the Shaw family history that Colter has yet to fully uncover. There’s a lot to love about these episodes because of the Shaw family secrets that are discussed here. The mystery surrounding their family is exciting to think about, and episodes like these make us wonder what really happened that night Ashton Shaw died. Though, even when Colter figures out what actually did happen to his father, that still won’t be the point of the show.
Perhaps the reason Tracker waited so long to introduce Colter’s siblings is because the writers wanted to firmly establish the type of man Colter Shaw is on his own. Of course, there’s also the notion that Colter may consider those he works with more of his “found family” than his actual family members. This includes his handlers, Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma (Abby McEnany), expert hacker Bobby (Eric Graise), and his official legal counselor (and potential romantic interest) Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene). For Colter, and Tracker as a whole, these are the people who matter most. Yes, the family drama is a necessary component, especially as it helps inform us of who Colter is and where he comes from. Just as Colter needs to find peace with his past, so too do we need to understand it for the sake of better understanding his character. But the series has purposely branded itself as a case-of-the-week type of show for a reason, and that’s still where it’s the strongest.
What makes Colter an electric protagonist is not simply where he came from or how he amassed all his impressive survivalist skills, but rather what he does with them. In this case, he’s made a career out of helping others. Naturally, this means that Tracker would focus most on that very idea, and when it does, it always stands out. This isn’t your normal police procedural where Colter waves his badge and gets full access to every government resource, rather, he is forced to come up with clever ways to find those who’ve vanished without a trace. That’s where the show thrives. No doubt, Colter’s estranged relationship with Dory and Russell will be explored further in the second season, just as his time with rival Billie Matalon (played by Justin Hartley’s real-life spouse, Sofia Pernas) will be revisited also. But what’s most exciting about Tracker Season 2 isn’t all the history we’ll uncover, but rather who (and how) Colter will help next.
‘Tracker’s Emphasis on the Job Best Reflects Its Lead Character
Perhaps there’s an even clearer reason as to why Tracker’s complex mythology (which now involves extramarital affairs, government conspiracies, and the elusive Horizon Group) takes a general backseat to the standard jobs that Colter takes week after week. Maybe the reason Tracker is structured in this way is that it more accurately reflects how Colter Shaw himself compartmentalizes his life. We know from episodes like “Chicago” that Colter doesn’t allow himself to get too attached to those around him, even when he works with them on a weekly basis. He regularly blows off his sister’s dinner invites and screens his brother’s calls, and when it comes to spending some R&R time with Bobby and Reenie, he chooses instead to get back on the road. The series structure of Tracker itself reflects the type of person Colter is, and that’s likely why it will (and should) remain this way for quite some time.
There’s no denying that Colter cares about those in his life. He and Russell have made amends after twenty years, and he takes on Bobby’s case for free. The way he reveals bits and pieces of himself to those under his charge in order to get them through whatever traumatic ordeal they’ve been through highlights this as well. But even though Colter cares deeply about those around him, including strangers he’s hardly met, that personal interest only extends so far. For the most part, Colter doesn’t allow himself to be cared for in the same way. By keeping people at arm’s length, he removes any possibility of emotional disappointment. It’s worth noting that we’ve never seen him on screen with Teddi or Velma, and he’s only ever met Bobby in person once (at least on-screen). So, when Colter finally shoots his shot with Reenie in the final moments of “The Storm,” only to be shot down, it’s a blow that will likely take him a while to recover from. Hopefully he doesn’t learn the wrong lesson.
Tracker is great at divorcing Colter’s jobs from Colter’s past, and in doing so does exactly what its leading character aims to do himself. Whether intentional or not, it creates an atmosphere of mystery that surrounds Tracker, not just as a series that hosts weekly mysteries, but one that holds long-term questions just beneath the surface. The show itself proves to be an accurate extension of the Colter Shaw character and thrives when leaning into his psyche — not just as a part of each episode’s plot, but as a part of the series’ structure as a whole. No wonder the show was renewed almost instantly. While we anxiously await Season 2 of Tracker, we can rest assured knowing that whatever comes next for Colter Shaw, he will be on the case.
Tracker is available for streaming on Paramount+.
