Tracker was the breakout hit of the early 2024 TV schedule, and CBS isn’t wasting any this fall by bringing the drama back earlier than expected. Leading man Justin Hartley reunited with Season 1 guest star and Supernatural alum Jensen Ackles for an early episode of Season 2 to thicken the plot about the skeletons in the Shaw family closet. Hartley has opened up with some details about what brings Russell back to reunite with his brother.
Jensen Ackles‘ first appearance on Tracker came with plenty of Supernatural Easter eggs and some answers for Justin Hartley’s Colter. It appears that Russell had nothing to do with the death of their father after all, but that revelation was followed by a bombshell that their sister Dory knows more than she let on when Melissa Roxburgh debuted in the role. Speaking with TV Insider, Hartley previewed about Ackles’ return:
It has more to do with the family thing. We left off first season with Colter having a lot of questions. He doesn’t even know who he can trust anymore. At the very beginning of last season, he thought his brother was involved in his father’s death, and then come to find out, wait a minute, he might not have had anything to do with it. Also, why is Dory hiding all this stuff?
Dory seemed to be the normal, well-adjusted Shaw sibling compared to Russell and Colter, but that may not be the case after all. Answers on that front may come sooner rather than later, as Ackles will rejoin Hartley in the second episode of Season 2. Then again, this is Tracker we’re talking about; any answers could well just come with more questions. The star went on:
So, Russell comes back and Colter’s got a couple of questions for him about this Dory situation and the box that she has and does Russell know where it is? Russell’s also pretty heroic in Episode 2 and they get involved in this really black ops, kind of strange thing. And these government officials start asking about our dad out of the blue, and you’re like, ‘Whoa, what’s this all about?’ So, in every episode, Dad is becoming a little more vindicated maybe, or just maybe completely nuts. We don’t know. We dive a little bit deeper into that.
Hartley went on to share that Melissa Roxburgh may be back since production on her new show will end before Tracker‘s second season, and Jennifer Morrison’s return to direct Episode 6 could also lead to her character from the Season 1 finale returning at some point. (Season 1 is available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription now.)
I for one had some concerns that Jensen Ackles wouldn’t be available to reprise his role as Russell after news broke that he’d be starring in a new spinoff of The Boys, but that clearly won’t be the case. Tracker is losing a series regular for Season 2, however, and it remains to be seen how Teddi’s absence is explained without actress Robin Weigert.
For now, it’s a waiting game with the Season 2 premiere of Tracker still weeks away. The first episode since the Season 1 finale in the spring airs on CBS on Sunday, October 13 at 8 p.m. ET. That’s at least earlier than the original plan for the end of October, and earlier than many of CBS’ other hits, including NCIS and the FBIs.