Not every television series needs to have an ensemble cast, and a show like Tracker is arguably at its best when it remains focused on its single central character. After all, that’s why audiences continue to tune into the CBS procedural. Justin Hartley‘s Colter Shaw is an enjoyable protagonist whose interactions with locals in every state he visits makes the show unique compared to other procedurals on television. And yet, Colter needs his team to help solve each new case, even if Tracker often struggles to utilize these characters in an effective way. Going into its third season, that needs to change.
‘Tracker’ Isn’t a Show Built For a Large Cast, and It Could Utilize Bobby and Reenie Better
If you had to distill Tracker down to a single logline, perhaps an accurate way to describe the series would be: “A well-trained survivalist travels across America collecting rewards while searching for missing persons.” While there are probably ten other ways to say that same thing, the point is that Tracker isn’t a show that needs several supporting characters. One or two, sure. We want to better understand Colter as a character, and the best way to do that is if there are people in his life he can legitimately trust. However, for a show about a self-proclaimed “lone-wolf survivalist,” Tracker has added a whole host of new characters to Colter’s life who seem in it for the long haul.
In the show’s pilot, Colter’s handlers, Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma Bruin (Abby McEnany), note that Colter has used several different attorneys over the years. The only reason that Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene) is called in “Klamath Falls” is that all the rest of these unnamed (and unseen) lawyers were unavailable. From here on, Tracker adds Reenie to Colter’s larger team, which also includes tech guru Bobby Exley (Eric Graise). But does the larger cast diminish Colter’s effectiveness as a solo rewardist? Do these other characters take away from what makes the premise most interesting? There’s an argument to be made that it does, but only because Tracker doesn’t use all of these characters effectively or efficiently.
If there’s one thing that Season 3 of Tracker needs to do, it’s learn to properly utilize its supporting cast. No, we don’t want Bobby and Reenie stealing all the good material from Colter, but we do want them to be important parts of the larger Tracker story. Perhaps it’s time that some of their personal plotlines overlap. There was potential in Season 2 with the Leo Sharf (Pej Vahdat) story, but the whole thing mostly felt like an aside that didn’t ultimately lead anywhere (unlike, say, “The Teacher” story from the season’s first half). Likewise, Bobby’s absence (though eventually explained) should have been a much bigger deal, and could have been more incorporated into the government conspiracy story that began in “Ontological Shock.” But instead, it didn’t amount to, well, anything. If Tracker wants to keep these characters fresh and interesting, then it needs to give them interesting material to work with, material that connects more to the reason we watch the show in the first place: Colter.
Bobby and Reenie Need To Be Given More To Do In ‘Tracker’
In our modern, tech-savvy world, it makes sense that Colter would need a “guy in the chair.” After all, he’s not a hacker, nor does he have the skillset to break into electronics or internet accounts the way that Bobby does. It makes sense that Colter would use someone like Bobby while out in the field, especially if he’s in a pinch. But instead of giving Bobby additional material to work with, he’s often a mouthpiece for exposition. In fact, the only reason we really care about the character is because of the Season 1 episode “Chicago,” where Colter and Bobby interact on a face-to-face level as the latter helps the former with a personal problem. It’s here that we become invested in Bobby’s personal life.
The trouble is, Tracker doesn’t do much with that afterward. Even in Season 2, when Eric Graise was written out for several episodes, the show could have easily made that a part of Bobby’s returning arc, but instead, he was largely an afterthought in the season’s second half. While adding Randy (Chris Lee) to his life does allow for an interesting dynamic (one we hope continues), Tracker has yet to explore this to the fullest, and right now, we don’t even know if Lee will return.
The same is true for Reenie on a different level. When the show was building toward something between her and Colter, it made sense that Reenie would continue to get involved in his business. More than that, we understood why Colter would allow her to, especially with so many other lawyers to choose from. But in Season 2, Reenie opened a new law practice that introduced her to some shady clients, and she also began seeing someone else romantically. Keeping her around suddenly felt more manufactured (especially when you account for all the states she has to travel to).
While Reenie is a good character worth having in Colter’s corner, Tracker continues to set up new ideas for her without any follow-through. We know Reenie is seeing Elliott (Michael Rady), but do we care? She started a new law office with Velma’s help, but does that really contribute any more than her role in Season 1? Both Reenie and Bobby have the potential to be breakout characters in this action drama, but right now they feel like islands that Colter only visits for information.
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Maybe Colter Shaw Doesn’t Need Handlers After All
Speaking of, when Tracker started, Teddi and Velma were there as ways to open the door for Colter to take on new cases across the country. They did the heavy lifting of tracking down these assignments so that Colter could then do the heavier lifting and see them through. This arrangement made sense, and the pair became emotional confidants to Colter as he wrestled with his troubled past. They also echoed the Bruins from the original Jeffrey Deaver novels, who are Colter’s only recurring non-familial allies in the books.
But on Tracker, Colter also has Reenie, Bobby, and now Randy to lean on. He’s seen finding many of his jobs by himself (such as his Season 2 “white whale” case), takes on assignments based on friends’ recommendations, and even falls into jobs during his travels. With the absence of Robin Weigert, who left the show ahead of Season 2, as well as Velma’s decreased role, we have to wonder, does Colter really need handlers at all? There’s an argument to be made that Reenie and Bobby could fill these roles, and since they’re already included every week, cutting out the Bruins would increase everyone’s fees and allow them a more direct stake in which cases they undertake.
While the Bruins work well in Deaver’s books and served their purpose in Season 1 especially, maybe it’s time for Tracker to reassess Reenie and Bobby’s roles going forward. If the show were to add the standard “handler” duties to their plate, it may grant them more of an emotional investment in Colter’s cases, as they would be the ones sending him into danger. Whether this is the route Tracker will go, only time will tell, but either way, we need more from these characters going forward.
Tracker is available for streaming on Paramount+.
Tracker
- Release Date
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February 11, 2024
- Network
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CBS
- Showrunner
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Elwood Reid
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Justin Hartley
Colter Shaw
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