In the thrilling return of CBS's top-rated series, Tracker, Justin Hartley reprises his role as Colter Shaw, the master tracker of missing persons (and occasionally dogs), who finds himself sitting alone in a secluded bar, lost in his own thoughts as a young waitress tries unsuccessfully to engage him in conversation. Colter's family and colleagues have been searching for him for weeks, ever since he disappeared after an intense interrogation of a man named Otto in the season two finale. Otto admitted to killing Colter's father, Ashton (Lee Tergesen), over a disagreement, and while Colter was emotionally distraught, did he cross the line into murder? Hartley tells The Hollywood Reporter that he's pretty sure Otto lived through the encounter. "I think it's safe to assume that," Hartley says. "I don't think it made the cut, but we did have a scene where he says, 'It took everything within me not to kill him.' But I think at that point, it would have just been murder. It wasn't a simple 'mom called Otto and said, 'Come over here and kill my husband.'" There's more to it. The intention was to get Otto to be a mediator, but in the end, he threw Shaw's dad off a cliff."
As the new season begins, viewers are introduced to the one person who can track Colter down anywhere in the world: his brother Russell (played by Jensen Ackles). And just in time, as Colter engages in a violent bar fight to protect the waitress who is being harassed by a brute patron. After the fight, the two brothers end up in Colter's trailer while Russell quizzes him about his disappearance. Colter explains the mystery of their father's death and his meeting with Otto. While Colter is still upset about his mother's perceived role in their father's death, Russell takes a different approach. He believes that their mother may have felt the need to get herself and her children away from the chaotic situation, and he is ready to give her more grace than Colter will.
"I love our show when we do stuff like that," Hartley says. "We do the action and all that, but the heart is what's important. I think that's what separates our show. That's what people care about, to see these characters and their hearts and what they care about." Colter, on the other hand, can seemingly empathize with and give grace to most people—except himself, according to Hartley. "Colter is really good at talking to other people," Hartley explains about the difference in the two brothers. "He can easily talk to strangers about what matters to them, what's in their hearts, what they care about and why they are in the situation they are in. But he's not really good at doing that for himself. He becomes a shut-in and recluse. He's like, 'I'm going to handle everything on my own.' He bottles things up. All of that creates damage."
After the heartfelt conversation between the two brothers, Russell informs Colter that he was fired from his job and needs work. Colter's team receives a call from a man whose ex-wife and teenage daughter are missing. He knows his ex's new husband deals with shady people doing investments. He thinks the new husband has gotten his ex and daughter mixed up in some unscrupulous deal. The father will pay whatever fee necessary to have Colter find and bring his family back alive. Russell joins in for the adventure.
The premiere episode launches a two-part storyline, with "Leverage" airing next Sunday. Viewers did see at the end of Sunday’s episode that this case has inadvertently put both Colter and Russell’s lives in danger. Hartley says working with his buddy Ackles again was the highlight of doing these first two episodes of season three. He says the vibe and dynamic just flows between them. "It’s just great," Hartley explains. "We have the same work ethic. We have the same sensibilities when it comes to the craft and work and all of that, which is very professional. I enjoy the company and appreciate his talent. Also, he is just fun to hang out with. It is cool to have an old friend on set that you share a lot of old stories with."
But after next week’s episode, Hartley says season three will continue to move in a direction never seen before on Tracker. "We are actually in the middle of it right now where Colter will find himself in a sticky situation," Hartley says. "He will have to use all of his knowledge and skills, everything in his bag, to try to evade and keep himself away from authorities. Instead of him always looking and chasing after someone, he is being chased. This is an interesting turn for our show." Could previous storylines creep back in? Hartley says never say never, but the goal is to move the show in a new direction. "We do have a lot of guest stars who are coming back, along with some fan-favorites," says Hartley as the star and executive producer. "But for Colter, I can say that this year he is chasing after inner peace. Finding his purpose in life is also part of his job, but there are still too many family things that don't make any sense."
