It’s Officially the End of an Era for Justin Hartley’s Tracker

Justin Hartley’s Tracker follows Colter Shaw as he travels around the country, using his survival skills and training to track down missing people or things. With the rewardist towing his Airstream to a new city every week, the show’s format is pretty episodic. Colter rolls into town for a case and hunts down whoever or whatever is missing.

Justin Hartley and Tracker‘s Showrunner, Elwood Reid, have teased what’s coming in Season 3, and it’s going to flip the procedural on its head. While they haven’t outright said when it’s going to happen, it sounds like Colter will find himself a fugitive from the law in Tracker‘s mid-season.

Tracker’s Mid-Season Finale May See Colter Shaw Being Hunted

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Following the strong season opener, where Tracker released its first-ever two-part episode, Justin Hartley and Elwood Reid have been making the rounds in the press, previewing what fans can expect. One storyline mentioned in multiple interviews involves Colter being hunted. When Harltey spoke with Deadline, he said, “[Colter] finds himself in a situation at a certain point in our season where he’s the one being hunted, which we haven’t seen before. Usually, he’s the one who’s looking for something. That he actually is the one that’s being hunted for a little bit here in the season, I think that’s a pretty cool turn that I think the audience will really enjoy.”

Following the shocking Season 2 finale, Hartley was open about a particular idea that he was very excited about. “I love the idea — and we haven’t seen it yet — of Colter getting a typical job [gone wrong],” Hartley told Variety. “He gets a phone call from whatever, there’s a reward, and he goes in and finds out a little bit too late that this whole thing is a setup, and someone is trying to pin this murder on him.” Over two seasons, Colter has taken down some big fish who may have a vendetta against the lone-wolf survivalist. Any one of them could be behind a frame-up, but it could also be a new culprit who hires Colter just so he can frame him.

As for the timing of this epic shake-up, Elwood Reid spoke to Us Weekly about how important it is to keep Colter human. He’s not a superhero, and he can get hurt. In fact, CBS apparently encourages them to beat up Colter a little. “The network is always like, ‘He can get messed up, he can lose a fight, he can get conked on the head, and he can have a gun pointed at him,'” Reid said, before revealing an important clue to when Tracker will pull the rug out from under the rewardist. “Justin pitched an idea for the season 3 mid-season finale, where it doesn’t go well for Colter.”

Justin Hartley Teased That Tracker Season 3 Will Find Colter in a ‘Sticky Situation’

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When Justin Hartley spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, he gave a few more details about the upcoming story. “We are actually in the middle of it right now, where Colter will find himself in a sticky situation,” Hartley said. “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.”

Colter presumably has some skills that audiences haven’t seen before. Thus far, Colter has proven himself to be proficient in hand-to-hand combat, firearms, and improvised explosives. The skill that viewers see most often is his ability to track. The way Colter can read a landscape to understand what happened and which direction his target went is one of the most useful abilities in his line of work, but it isn’t just about the depth of the footprints or broken branches. Colter’s critical thinking and deduction skills play an important part in what he does. He’s able to calculate probabilities to help him find the most likely scenario of events.

Another handy skill Colter draws on frequently is first aid. Colter is usually equipped with braces for injuries and blankets for the cold. His work has taken him to rocky cliffsides, high-altitude snowy peaks, and the criminal underworld. Growing up off the grid with his father, Colter described his childhood, saying that his father wanted him to be able to survive in any situation. This means Colter is probably a decent hunter and forager. In an upcoming episode, audiences will get to see some of these skills in action when Colter is stranded in the wilderness and must survive off the land.

As a fugitive, Colter will have to fly under the radar, maybe even change his appearance. It’s not likely Colter will lie low, so investigating the frame job and evading the authorities will be a new challenge for the survivalist. With his Airstream, he will be able to live off the grid, parking it in the woods, out of sight, but he’ll need to ditch his phone and use cash, not unlike the victims of The Process in Tracker‘s season opener. It will no doubt be a game-changing storyline.

Who Could Colter Turn to While Evading Authorities?

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With Colter on the run as a fugitive, he probably won’t be able to contact other characters like Reenie or Randy very often. Reenie will likely be working to clear Colter’s name as his lawyer on the legal side of things. Randy could help Colter more, but as a known associate, he may also be under surveillance, meaning Colter will have to look outside his team for help evading the authorities and investigating the situation. Showrunner Elwood Reid has addressed the news that Tracker lost two of its series regulars ahead of season three, promising plenty of familiar faces.

One episode that Reid mentioned specifically was Season 2’s “The Night Movers.” When talking to TVLine, Reid said, “There’s another episode that I think has potential to come back to, which was the Night Movers episode. Because here’s Colter, who finds people, and here’s this woman, who disappears people. Playing with those ideas, I think, is really interesting. There’s a world out there that we can tap into [with] those longer story arcs.” The Night Movers help people get new, untraceable identities and lives. While Colter probably won’t disappear as he’ll want to clear his name, the Night Movers could be valuable allies to help him hide.

In a recent interview, Justin Hartley confirmed Billie, his fellow rewardist and real-life wife, will be back in season three, but will she be tracking Colter or helping him? Billie and Colter grew significantly closer over her Season 2 appearances, but she’s very job-oriented. It’s possible Billie would take the job to find Colter. If she were the one to locate him, she could ensure he wasn’t shot or killed when bringing him in, taking the job to protect him in a way. On the flip side, Billie could more directly help Colter by investigating and finding the real killer. There will be certain things that Colter won’t be able to do as a wanted man, so having a trusted investigator like Billie to tackle those tasks would be crucial.

Colter has crossed paths with some other less savory individuals over two seasons. There was the mafia boss, whose son was kidnapped. Colter helped her prevent a mob war and keep her son alive. By the end of the episode, she told him that she owed him a favor. Colter said he wasn’t going to need anything from her, to which she replied, “Everybody says that…until they do.” A woman in charge of a criminal organization would have connections that could help Colter uncover the truth. Then there was the retired cop who helped Colter investigate his white whale case: Gina Picket. While he was a former law enforcement officer, he didn’t shy away from torturing a suspect to get information and would probably help Colter clear his name.

Then, of course, there’s Colter’s big brother, Russell Shaw. The fan-favorite character, played by Jensen Ackles, doesn’t play by the rules. Russell would be the perfect person to turn to for Colter. Unfortunately, it may not be possible. The busy actor is currently filming The Boys‘ prequel series, Vought Rising, and may not be available to reprise his role as the eldest Shaw child. If Vought Rising wraps filming at just the right time, Ackles may return to Tracker, but it will all depend on their schedules. No matter who or if Colter turns to anyone for help, it’s going to be a groundbreaking change for the series.