Tracker has gone via forged adjustments — and exits — however may there be extra reconfiguration quickly?
Earlier than the midseason finale on Sunday, December 14, govt producer Elwood Reid weighed in on the onscreen adjustments.
“What we’re realizing is there are characters that come on that if it labored, we’d deliver them again,” he famous. “I do suppose the present can’t all the time do this. However when it does do this, it makes the world really feel a little bit bit extra linked.”
Reid famous there was just one fixed on the present: Justin Hartley‘s fan-favorite character.
“The viewers leans in as a result of they’ve seen that character earlier than. However I believe they’re nonetheless considering the central DNA of the present is Colter. With this man, what makes him interesting is he’s a thriller to himself,” he famous. “He’s a thriller to the viewers. We see him and his off time placing collectively some items of his previous.”
In consequence, Tracker has remained dedicated to Colter’s journey. “I don’t know if we’ll ever put all of it collectively however he’s going to battle to proceed to try this,” Reid teased. “That’s simply so far as we now have thought. The largest enchancment we made this 12 months — for my part — was getting folks in the identical room.”
He continued: “Simply that connectivity, I do suppose the viewers is having fun with seeing their characters in the identical place bodily.”
Tracker, which premiered in February 2024, launched fictional survivalist Colter (Hartley) as he travels the nation to assist clear up varied lacking individuals instances. As Colter has obtained increasingly more assist, the ensemble forged has grown with their respective characters, together with handlers Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma (Abby McEnany), hacker Bobby (Eric Graise) and lawyer Reenie (Fiona Rene).
After becoming a member of Tracker in season 1, Weigert’s character was written off within the premiere. Season 2 then brought on some to be involved about when Graise was noticeably absent from six episodes. Information later broke that Graise and McEnany wouldn’t be coming again — a minimum of for now.
“I do suppose it’s evolving. If I can’t evolve these characters — Randy or Reenie or Bobby — they’re not simply folks that simply decide up the cellphone and go, ‘OK, right here is the reply.’ That’s when the present is phoning it in,” Reid solely informed Us in Might. “The problem is if you obtained to find out about them, which I believed was fascinating. That’s the problem of the present isn’t having it fall right into a system.”
Reid famous that they didn’t need Tracker to “fall into complacency.”
Justin Hartley’s Tracker is well CBS’ greatest hit present — so why has it gone via three forged shakeups in simply two seasons? When Tracker premiered in 2024, it launched Us to survivalist Colter Shaw (Hartley) as he travels the nation to assist discover lacking folks, monitor down info on felony instances and extra. The […]
“The one rule I actually have of the present is every week Colter goes to come back to a brand new place and there’s going to be a brand new case. How he will get these solutions and what he makes use of on the crew, that’s all one thing that’s up for grabs,” Reid teased. “Assembly these [local] bizarre characters is one thing we’re going to attempt to do extra of because the season goes on. Simply Colter coming in and interacting with different characters. That’s enjoyable to see Justin flex these muscle tissue with actually good visitor forged members.”
Forward of season 3, Reid defended the choice to shake up season 3.
“Justin has to hold a lot of the present. So I don’t need the opposite characters which might be within the present to only be phone-a-friend the place each time he’s in hassle, he simply picks up the cellphone. The problem in season 3 has been how can we construct precise good story out of [it],” Reid teased.
He continued: “It’s simply constructing out these story strains. The problem we arrange for ourselves this season was to construct out these folks’s world a little bit bit. It’s about attempting to get a little bit little bit of lightness [into the show] as a result of typically Colter is performing some actually darkish and heavy stuff. It’s life or demise.”
Tracker returns to CBS Sunday, March 1, at 9 p.m. ET.
