It’s funny, Jensen Ackles is returning to reprise his role as Colter Shaw’s brother in Tracker Season 3. Not just that, he’s returning for multiple episodes. According to TVLine, he’ll be back for the show’s Season 3 premiere two-parter, and that’s not the only episode he’s expected to appear. Ironically, he’s one of the few people who will actually appear on the show this year. From now on, this is going to be Justin Hartley’s show, and you better like that, because it’ll be Justin and Justin and Justin, sharing scenes with…eh, Justin?
Okay, we joke. The show has retained one more series regular: Fiona Rene, who plays Reenie Green. But that’s it. Eric Graise and Abby McEnany, who played Bobby Exley and Velma Bruin, respectively, and who had been with the show since the beginning, have officially departed. This comes after Robin Weigert, who co-starred as Velma’s wife Teddi, departed after Season 1.
A show with two series regulars. But Jensen Ackles is coming back!
Ackles has been everywhere promoting his Prime Video series Countdown. And his return is actually a nice bit of continuity for the show. It’s especially important as Colter deals with the apparent conspiracy surrounding the death of his father, Professor Ashton Shaw. The show has also had Melissa Roxburgh appear as Colter’s sister Dory, and Wendy Crewson show up as his mother Mary.
The logline for the first episode of Season 3, titled “The Process,” will continue with the family drama. It reads:
As Colter grapples with the shocking truth surrounding his father’s death, Russell joins forces with his brother to help track down the missing wife and daughter of one of Reenie’s clients. Their reunion finds them mixed up in a chain of events involving a sinister underground operation known as ‘The Process.’
But the conspiracy cannot be the entire storyline, of course. And considering this is still a procedural, the fact that Colter will apparently now choose his cases, investigate them, do the tech stuff himself, and maybe even talk to himself while he’s at it, sounds a little…. well, you can fill in the blanks yourself. The logline also gives us no clue about how the show is writing out Bobby and Velma. So we’ll have to see if the show even gives them closure, or if we get a throwaway line and nothing else.
And, as for Ackles, Tracker showrunner Elwood Reid told TVLine, “Jensen is gainfully employed at Amazon [on Countdown and The Boys prequel, Vought Rising], but we’ll take as much of him as we can get.” Which is more than most other people get on this show, we might add. “He and I go back because we worked on Big Sky together. He’s got a very, very busy schedule, but I was able to plug him into this hole, and he came up here and did two episodes for me. He’s amazing. I just got done editing Episode 2, and [he and Justin Hartley] are so good together. It’s so much fun.”
Will we see more of him this season? Never say never.
Tracker Season 3 premieres Sunday, Oct. 19 at 8/7 on CBS.
