Dory’s Tracker Future Addressed By Melissa Roxburgh After Jensen Ackles’ Season 3 Return

Melissa Roxburgh just revealed if she plans on returning to Tracker at some point in the future, especially now that Jensen Ackles is back on the CBS drama.

Tracker is Justin Hartley’s first series regular role since This Is Us ended in 2022 after six seasons. He plays a survivalist named Colter Shaw, with Roxburgh as his sister, Dory Shaw, and Ackles as brother, Russell Shaw. Roxburgh has only appeared in two episodes so far, but it appears that there are no plans for her to return.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns for The Hunting Party season 2, the actor said it would be “so great” to guest star on Tracker again since Dory is a “fun” character to play, and she loves the dynamics of the Shaw siblings.

She has her “fingers crossed” that the producers and writers will find a way to weave her back into the show. In fact, Roxburgh admitted that she wants to ask Hartley, who’s also an executive producer on Tracker, about what the future holds for Dory since she doesn’t know “where their storylines are taking them at the moment.”

I hope so. I don’t know where their storylines are taking them at the moment, but it would obviously be so great to be back on that show. Dory’s fun, and I think that the dynamic of the siblings is such an interesting storyline to tap into. So, fingers crossed. I’ll have to ask Justin about that one.

Along with Hartley, the Tracker cast also includes Robin Weingert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, and Fiona Rene. Roxburgh and Ackles made their debuts in back-to-back episodes that aired in May 2024. Colter reached out to Dory, who’s a professor, after he began investigating the disappearance of a student from her university.

The following week, Russell showed up when he needed Colter to look for a friend from the military who had gone missing. The reunion wasn’t a happy one since the two brothers were estranged. Ackles came back for three more episodes, including the start of Tracker season 3.

Roxburgh made a brief appearance in season 2 when Dory gave a box to Colter that belonged to their dad. Sifting through the items, Colter discovered a phone number that was disconnected. However, during the finale, Colter found out much more than he bargained for when it was revealed that his mother was the mastermind behind his father’s death.

Unfortunately, Roxburgh doesn’t have as much time for the CBS series these days, since she’s now starring as an FBI agent on the NBC drama The Hunting Party, which debuted in 2025, several months after her first appearance on Tracker.

After starring in the supernatural drama Manifest from 2018 to 2023, Roxburgh returned to the small screen in an episode of Quantum Leap before guest-starring on Tracker and then landing her next series regular role on The Hunting Party.

While the NBC drama is keeping her busy, audiences would love to see Dory back on Tracker in some capacity. While there are no plans at the moment, it’s possible the producers and writers could create a new storyline for her that allows her to pop in and out without compromising her work on The Hunting Party.

The Hunting Party airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on NBC, and Tracker season 3 returns Sunday, March 1, at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.