It’s been a few weeks now since Tracker began its new season, and the show has once again hit its stride. Even with all the behind-the-scenes shake-ups regarding production, Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) is back doing what he does best. That’s why we watch the CBS drama, of course, for all the new cases that the reward seeker takes on each year. In fact, it’s because the show has such a clear long-term focus with Colter that it continues to wrestle with the rest of its main cast — and if the show wants to keep them around (and interesting), things need to change fast.
‘Tracker’ Is Struggling to Utilize the Rest of Its Main Cast
When Season 4 began, rather than relocate Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene), Randy Davis (Chris Lee), and Mel Day (Cassady McClincy Zhang) to their new Denver office in the premiere, the audience has been strung along on this “office hunt” plot for several episodes now. “Purification,” the fourth episode in, has finally wrapped that bit up, but it seems like Tracker just has no clue how to handle Colter Shaw’s supporting cast when they’re not in the same room as him. Randy’s role is one thing. After all, he’s the necessary tech genius who can open the digital doors that Colter can’t — without someone like Randy, Colter would be lost without a lead out in the field. We’ve come to accept that Randy, just like Bobby Exley (Eric Graise) before him, is integral to Colter’s reward-seeking operation. Indeed, Tracker was smart to merge Randy and Reenie’s lives together in order to consolidate its main cast rather than keep them separate as independent agents. But just having them in the same room is not enough.
Which Tracker Character Are You?
Colter · Reenie · Bobby · Russell
Answer eight quick questions and we will tell you which one you are. Tracker launched out of the Super Bowl and immediately became the biggest new drama on American television, built around a man who lives in a trailer and finds people for a reward.
Colter Shaw(Justin Hartley)
Reenie Greene(Fiona Rene)
Bobby Exley(Eric Graise)
Russell Shaw(Jensen Ackles)
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Where would you rather work?
Pick the one that sounds most like you.
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CLASS=” CQ-question-text ” > How would your friends describe you?
CLASS=” CQ-question-sub ” > Be honest.
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CLASS=” CQ-question-text ” > What is your home like?
CLASS=” CQ-question-sub ” > One answer only.
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““class=CQ-question-text”>How do you solve a problem? “”
“”class=CQ-question-sub”>Pick the closest answer.” “”
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“Pick a skill.””
“No wrong answers here.””
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“<label for"CQ-S6"NEXT QUESTION →”
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“What is your relationship with your family?””
“Pick the closest answer.””
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“<label for"CQS-S7"NEXT QUESTION →”
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“07”
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“How do you feel about getting paid?””
“Think about your last job.””
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‘Tracker’ Needs To Strike a Better Balance With Its Subplots
If Tracker is going to continue long-term, then the CBS series needs to do one of two things. Either it needs to continue to “trim the fat,” so to speak, as it had begun to do at the start of the third season, or it needs to make the rest of the cast more integral to the daily happenings of Colter’s life. In the first two seasons, Reenie was much more involved with Colter’s current caseload and often found ways to meet up with him out in the field. While some of those team-ups were perhaps a stretch (especially considering Reenie’s profession), that doesn’t mean they needed to be done away with entirely. At the very least, there have to be ways that the show can still use Reenie’s legal skills, even if it’s just to help Colter more over the phone. More Reenie isn’t a bad thing; she just needs to be utilized properly — and more importantly, interestingly.
When it comes to the subplots themselves, they’ve always teased a possible connection to what Colter is up to but more often end up entirely divorced from our hero’s main plot — again, the reason folks are watching in the first place. This makes these B-plots a bit of a chore to keep up with, especially when they become convoluted over several episodes, like the Season 3 legal investigation that culminated in “Chain of Custody.” Frankly, they’re just boring compared to what Colter is up to, so if CBS wants to keep its supporting cast around, Tracker needs to find more clever ways for the audience to invest in and care about them. Right now, we’re still watching for Colter, and if the creatives involved ever want us to start tuning in for anyone outside the Shaw family (although Randy is probably safe here), then the show needs to start throwing its other characters a meatier bone.
Tracker airs Sundays on CBS and is available for streaming the next day on Paramount+.
