One development that heavily impactsTrackerseason 3 risks dooming the crime drama, even with its success being unrivaled among network TV shows. The Justin Hartley-led TV show brought a breath of fresh air to the procedural drama genre, thanks toTracker’s main characterColter Shaw’s peculiar backstory, which involved being raised as a survivalist and working as a rewardist.
Season 2 maintainedTrackerseason 1’s popularity, continuing to be the most watched scripted network TV show. Indeed, averaging 17.34 million viewers across all platforms over 35 days,Trackerseason 2 proved the crime drama is as popular as ever.Trackerseason 3 could continue this trend, but some decisions risk threatening its longevity because of the problems they cause.
Tracker Season 2 Effectively Dismantles Colter’s Team
The announcement ofAbby McEnany and Eric Graise’s exits ahead ofTrackerseason 3reduces Colter’s team to Reenie and Randy. WhileTrackerseason 1 established Colter and Reenie’s difficult history that led him not to appreciate Teddi and Velma’s decision to involve Reenie, their relationship made strides inTrackerseasons 1 and 2, making her a fundamental team member.
Randy’s introduction through Bobby went somewhat smoother, and he proved a capable ally to Colter, but he never shared a deeper link like Bobby’s with Colter.Trackerseason 2, episode 17’s caseinvolving them, Randy’s ex and her best friend,built Randy up as a valid replacement, but even that doesn’t cancel out Colter and Bobby’s connectionthat predates Randy.
Velma and Bobby’s exits inTrackerseason 3 isolate Coltermore than he ever was before, as he always kept a distance from his team, despite evidently caring about them. The rare occasions when Colter and his team were all in the same place, like inTrackerseason 1, episode 7, Colter refused to celebrate the case’s resolution with them.
The nature of Colter’s job already makes him exceptionally isolated inTracker, with Colter’s challenging backstory and how it influenced his decision to become a rewardist fully warranting his tendency to be alone.
Velma’s importance inTrackerseason 2 decreased, with her not doing as much as inTrackerseason 1.Teddi’s exit inTrackerseason 2 shrunk Velma’s rolebecause season 1 presentedVelma and Teddi together as a crucial part of Colter’s team, with them able to show the personal side of their bond with Colter, as they worried for him.
Bobby and Velma following Teddi away from Colter’s team simultaneously makes Colter more alone and deprives him of his biggest supporters in his job. Indeed, while Reenie always practically helped Colter the most, and Randy proved himself just as useful inTrackerseason 2, Colter wouldn’t have known about half of the cases that he took without Velma and Teddi.
Having a case per episode forced Colter to interact with most of his team often, due to his refusal to discuss personal things. With Colter’s team halved, Randy and Reenie will have to do double the work to push him to share. Moreover,Trackerseason 3’s episodes risk looking even more similar to one another than those in previous seasons.
Tracker Getting Rid Of Its Ensemble Aspect Shortens Its Life Span
Tracker’s popularity is proven by its numbers, and reflected by how it didn’t take very long for CBS to renew it, both for season 2 after not even a month it had been airing, and season 3 in the 2024-2025 TV season. However, turningTrackerfrom an ensemble show into one with very few characters risks gambling away its longevity.
Trackerhaving fewer fixed charactersputs all the weight on them. The show’s whole premise to follow Colter’s trips around the US in every location where his cases bring him already makes having story arcs develop over entire seasons difficult.Tracker’s characters reducing in number makes it more challenging, with the overarching narratives depending solely on Colter, Reenie and Randy.
How much time Colter spends alone and at the center of the story inTrackeralready places the burden of carryingTrackeron Justin Hartley. Doing so for entire seasons of around 20 episodes or more can not only be tiring for Hartley, but it also makes it extremely easy for the show to get old in terms of narrative.
Trackerseason 2 did a good job of keeping things interesting by having Colter find himself in various situations, with the crime drama bordering on different genres when Colter faced cult leaders or serial killers. Still,long-lasting proceduralslikeNCISand beyondhave proven that compelling overarching narratives are needed along with convincing cases, makingTracker’s few characters a problem.
How Tracker Can Solve Its Cast Problem
Trackerseason 3 still has a chance to save the show’s longevity. Not only is there time to introduce new characters that can help Colter, butTrackerseason 2 already proved it knows how to do so. Indeed, Randy’s introduction to cover for Bobby seemed unexpected, so accustomed as everybody was to Bobby, but it worked seamlessly after a while.
Trackerhas several options when trying not to burden Colter with the weight of all of the show’s storylines. With theShaw family mysterytaking up so much of previousTrackerseasons,Colter’s family could be a more prominent part of the story to solve it. After that, they could stay on, taking a more active part in Colter’s cases.
Another option could be making characters that Colter already knows more important, like Billie Matalon or Helen Brock, who both appeared multiple times. The crime drama could also invest in introducing entirely new characters and building up their importance over time. Whichever way it does it,Trackerneeds to beef up its ranks if it wants to ensure its longevity.
