Colter Shaw travels the country in a black pickup truck, towing the R.V. that he calls home. He strides into strangers’ lives, looking at them with his earnest brown eyes and pledging he will help — for a fee. After all, the man has gas to pay for.
If you still watch network TV there’s a good chance you’ve met Colter. Played by Justin Hartley, he’s the center of “Tracker,” the CBS drama that premiered right after the Super Bowl in 2024 and quickly staked out a spot at the top of the ratings. In its second season, which ended in May, the only shows with more viewers were the Netflix megahits “Squid Game” and “Adolescence.” Season 3 premieres on Oct. 19.
“Tracker” is the most successful series in a mini-renaissance for the lone-wolf procedural, in which a gifted hero offers viewers the reliable pleasure of seeing a thorny problem resolved in under an hour. ABC’s “High Potential,” about a crime-solving genius played by Kaitlin Olson, and CBS’s revival of the legal drama “Matlock,” starring Kathy Bates, both debuted in fall 2024 and were among the 10 most-watched shows on TV last season. So was “Reacher,” on Amazon Prime Video, which has longer story arcs but also revolves around a tough-guy drifter, played by Alan Ritchson. Other popular examples include “Elsbeth” and “Watson,” both also with new seasons this fall on CBS, and “Will Trent,” slated to return in January on ABC.
“Tracker,” based on a series of novels by Jeffery Deaver, follows Colter throughout the country as he plies his trade as a “rewardist,” tracking down missing persons for families willing to pay. Aided remotely by his lawyer and love interest, Reenie (Fiona Rene), and various handlers, he rescues a boy from a wealth-seeking kidnapper, a tech whiz who has fallen prey to a dangerous cult and other people who could use the help of a man with his particular set of skills.
There is a bit of back story: Colter was raised by survivalists, and he has reason to believe his brother killed his father. But “Tracker” is a throwback kind of series, with very little in the way of intricate long-form storytelling, antihero angst or zeitgeist exploration.
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The post ‘Tracker’ Became One of TV’s Biggest Hits by Keeping It Simple appeared first on New York Times.
