Fans didn’t respond particularly well to the news thatTrackerwould be losing half its main cast, but the situation could result in arguably positive changes to the series. The show continues to be one of the biggest hits on CBS, but cutting out two names from the already limited roster ofTracker’s main charactersis a naturally risky move.
Eric Graise and Abby McEnany leavingTrackercaused a stir in part becauseBobby and Velma alone significantly enhanced the show’s representation of diversity, with each character checking off more than one box. But while it hasn’t been confirmed whether the actors are leaving of their own volition, their departures could benefitTrackerseason 3in one major way.
Velma And Bobby’s Exits Could Streamline The Storytelling In Tracker Season 3
Due at least in part to outside circumstances, any contributions that Bobby and Velma might have made to the series when it first began have been significantly reduced.Teddi’sTrackerseason 2 exitleft Velma with fewer characters to play off of, a problem exacerbated by the fact thatColter’s been taking increasingly more cases without Velma’s help finding them.
Meanwhile, Bobby didn’t even appear in much ofTrackerseason 2, something that went bizarrely unexplained for several episodes despite the fact that there was no real plot twist behind his absence. Furthermore,Bobby felt redundant upon his return because he was no longer a practical necessity with Randy on the team. Mystery and action series don’t need multiple hacker characters.
This problem becomes particularly clear inTrackerseason 2, episode 16, “The Mercy Seat.” Colter already has his mission when the action begins, so the episode manufactures conflict with emergency services just to shoehorn in a subplot involving the ensemble cast. In the end, Colter doesn’t board the helicopter that the ensemble secures him anyway, rendering their B-plot largely pointless.
It’s not unfair that many fans thinklosing Bobby and Velma will hurtTrackerseason 3, but issues like this highlight the degree to whichfinding ways to justify the ensemble’s screentime has created narrative imbalance in several episodes. “The Mercy Seat” is clearly more interested in telling Colter’s story alone, and that’s becoming characteristic of the series in general.
Tracker Has Already Been Leaning Toward Becoming A Single-Character Series
Conceptually,Trackeralready lends itself toward being the type of series likePoker FaceorColumboin whicha single protagonist travels around solving cases with little assistance apart from each episode’s weekly guests. Season 2, however, takes the series even further in that direction thanks to Velma and Bobby’s limited involvement in most episodes, let alone the overarching storyline.
In fact, other than Gina Picket’s disappearance andTracker’s Shaw family mystery,the only major throughline in the season involves Reenie’s work with client Leonard Sharf. It seems as if Teddi’s departure from the show could have been spun into a bigger storyline for Velma, but her absence is instead largely shrugged off without much explanation or narrative consequence.
Bobby’s long absence from the season is handled in an even more disappointing fashion. The fact thathis whereabouts remained unexplained at the time Colter learned of government conspirators keeping tabs on his teamsuggested that his absence could tie into a larger plotline of some importance, but he’s instead revealed to have simply been grieving after a funeral.
The show already struggles frequently to balance its ensemble with its main star, an issue that’s occasionally affected audience scores in spite ofTracker’s generally high ratings. ButTrackerseason 2 seems to have largely run out of storylines for its secondary characters altogether. Eliminating the problem entirely by sending Bobby and Velma into the sunset is a sensible solution.
Tracker Season 3 Still Needs To Make Up For Its Character Losses In A Major Way
Reducing the number of supporting characters to balance against Colter’s storyline definitely solves a problem, particularly whenfew episodes find the time or reason to depict Colter and his team in the same room together. However, fan complaints about the characters’ exits robbing the series of diversity remain valid, and this concern shouldn’t go unaddressed inTrackerseason 3.
Apart from skin color, Bobby offers double-duty representation due to his character’s physical disability. Meanwhile, Velma represents not only lesbian women but specifically those on the back end of middle age. Andthe characters are respectively played by a real-life amputee and an actual LGBT individual, meaning their communities were represented by not only the characters but the actors themselves.
Even accounting forColter’s relative isolation inTracker, it would be unrealistic for a man of his profession to work with clients of varying backgrounds without running into diverse individuals like this. Nonetheless,there are some episodes like “The Mercy Seat” that would lack almost any diversity at all if not for the ensemble cast. That needs to be fixed.
Although it won’t negate fans’ disappointment at losing Bobby and Velma, the series could take a note fromFound(and as a bonus become its best replacement show) by simply incorporating more diversity intoTrackerthrough each episode’s weekly guests. It’s the simplest solution to the diversity issue that still maintains the benefit of a more balanced and streamlined narrative.
Tracker
Cast
Tracker follows lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw as he navigates the country as a reward seeker. Utilizing his expert tracking skills, he aids private citizens and law enforcement in solving various mysteries while grappling with issues from his fractured family.
