Note: This story contains spoilers from “Tracker” Season 3, Episode 22.
“Tracker” ended its third season on Sunday, once again finding itself as the No. 1 primetime scripted show in broadcast. But according to star and executive producer Justin Hartley, Season 4 this fall will be the CBS series’ most ambitious one yet.
“We have spent the first three years unpacking this story about what happened to Colter’s father — who was involved, who wasn’t involved — and that’s changed throughout the course of the show,” he told TheWrap. “First being that Colter thought his brother was involved, because his mother told him as much. Come to find out, that’s not necessarily the case. So all of that kind of comes to a head and we get some answers to all that stuff at the end of Season 3.”
“These stories take as long as they take, but when it’s time for a story to come to a head and answer some questions, it’s time. And it became obvious that this was sort of the right time to do this,” Hartley added. “We’ll come back with something — we already have it, it’s pretty incredible. Honestly, I think it’s our most ambitious season to date, but I think it’s also our richest one, in terms of character and backstory and where we’re taking Colter.”
Indeed, Season 3 dove deeper into the family lore around Colter Shaw and his estranged older brother Russell, played by Jensen Ackles. But when the series returns for Season 4, production will have moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles thanks to a $48 million California tax credit.
“In terms of tone and character, I don’t think it’ll impact the show at all. Our show is a road show. Our character goes from town to town across the United States of America and meets people from all different walks of life and helps them out. These strangers become kind of his family in a way,” Hartley explained. “To be able to shoot in a different place that gives us different landscapes, we’re able to go to places — New York, D.C., the desert, Texas, the beach. It just opens up our world in terms of landscape, which is such a big character of our show.”
“We built a really great, wonderful show and we did it in Vancouver for the first three years. Just, inevitably, as things go, the show has to evolve,” he added. “We’re not really interested in doing something just for the sake of doing it. I want to push the envelope and I want it to be something different, so we’re excited about it. It’s going to be very good for the show and for the audience.”
Plus, after starring in other hit shows like “This Is Us,” “Smallville” and even your favorite soap operas, Hartley is happy to have more creative input than before as an EP on “Tracker.”
“I’ve been with producers, executive producers and writers before in my career that let me kind of chime in and be a major part of my character, but in terms of the overall show, obviously I’ve never had that before. I really enjoy it,” he said. “I’ve learned a hell of a lot from these guys who are pros and been doing it for a long time, so it was a crash-course. They were very gracious with me and I feel like I’ve caught up now. I like having the ball in my hands, I like being the quarterback. I like knowing that if something worked, I had a part in that. And I don’t mind knowing that if something didn’t work, I can take the blame for that and learn from it; we move on and that will never happen again. So far, we’ve been really lucky. I have a lot of help, we work really well together and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Based on “The Never Game” by Jeffery Deaver, Ben H. Winters’ “Tracker” premiered after Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024, earning its Season 2 renewal just a month later. Since then, it has maintained its spot as the No. 1 entertainment show on network TV, even as fellow CBS drama “Marshals” entered the fray this winter.
“It certainly feels good when so many people are watching and enjoying it, and the stories that I hear about people watching it with their kids and with their parents and their grandparents,” Hartley shared. “Young people enjoy it, older people enjoy it, men, women —we’re very lucky, and we take that into consideration when coming up with these stories and backstory and history and all that.”
“Tracker” Seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Paramount+.
The post ‘Tracker’ Star Justin Hartley Promises ‘Most Ambitious Season’ Yet After That Illuminating Finale appeared first on TheWrap.
