Ahead Of Tracker Introducing Jensen Ackles As Colter’s Brother, Will Melissa Roxburgh Return As Dory? Here’s What We Know
Spoilers ahead for Episode 11 of Tracker Season 1, called “Beyond the Campus Walls.”
After Tracker spent the better part of the early 2024 TV schedule dropping clues about Colter’s family, “Beyond the Campus Walls” finally introduced the present-day version of one of the Shaw siblings: Dory, played by Manifest alum Melissa Roxburgh. It was plain enough from Roxburgh’s very first scene that Dory has built a much more stable life for herself than Colter, and presumably than for their oldest brother Russell as well. With Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles soon making his Tracker debut as Russell, read on for what Roxburgh told us about coming back as Dory!
Melissa Roxburgh told us that joining Tracker was a “no-brainer,” as she was already good friends with leading man Justin Hartley. “Beyond the Campus Walls” introduced Dory as a university professor who just wanted to reconnect with her brother, even though he wanted to revisit what went down with their family all those years ago and she knew he only reached out because he was already in the area. All in all, Colter was set to move on at the end of the hour (and reunite with his other sibling sooner rather than later), but Dory’s story didn’t feel over.
When I spoke with Melissa Roxburgh for Tracker, I noted that she had appeared in episodes of Supernatural back in the day, and she shared her thoughts on Jensen Ackles being cast as Russell to expand the on-screen Shaw family with Justin Hartley:
Oh, I am so excited to see that dynamic! I know that they know each other as well, so I think it’ll be super fun. I know they’ve already shot it, so I think it was super fun for them to kind of play brothers. And then I’m excited too to jump into that with them. I haven’t seen Jensen since I was like 18 years old. [laughs] So I’m excited to see him again.
It’s no surprise that Justin Hartley and Jensen Ackles knew each other before playing brothers on Tracker, as both are alums of The WB/The CW. Before his fifteen seasons of Supernatural (including two episodes featuring Melissa Roxburgh), Ackles appeared on Smallville, where Justin Hartley would eventually play the network’s first Green Arrow before going in a different direction for Stephen Amell’s Arrow. All in all, I can’t be the only Tracker viewer excited by Roxburgh’s comment about getting to “jump into that with them.” That said, when I asked if she was confirmed to return for Season 2, Roxburgh clarified:
I don’t know if it’s a confirmation but I know that I would love to come back and play, and I’ve heard a couple rumbles. But who knows?
Considering that the Season 1 finale of Tracker is still a couple of weeks off, it makes sense if plans for stories in Season 2 haven’t been finalized just yet. Fans do at least have the comfort of knowing that the freshman show is guaranteed a second season, as CBS wasted no time in renewing Tracker for Season 2. Roxburgh did share what she would “love” to do if/when she returns as Dory in the fall:
I would love for her to be more a part of helping Colter. I would love for her to play a bit more of a research role with him. She’s such a smart character. I want that to be utilized in his world.
“Beyond the Campus Walls” also confirmed that – unlike Colter – Dory has remained in contact with Russell, so I’m curious to see if that ties into how the oldest Shaw sibling is able to track down Colter in the next episode. Melissa Roxburgh weighed in on whether her character is one to take sides, since she has kept in touch with Russell but Colter hasn’t done the same for her:
Oh, I think she’s totally a neutral party because I don’t think that she has a motive. I think her only motive is to reconnect everyone. And I know that she knows they all want to find out the truth and Colter blames Russell and all this stuff, but I think her only goal is to just clear the waters. And so she’s trying to do that the best she can.
While we can only wait and see if Melissa Roxburgh makes an early return to Tracker in Season 2, the debut of the third Shaw sibling is just days away. Check out the promo for the episode that brings in Jensen Ackles, complete with a line that should delight Supernatural fans:
Just as Melissa Roxburgh has plenty of experience playing a younger sister in a complicated story from Manifest, Jensen Ackles has plenty of experience as a older brother with a complicated relationship with his sibling thanks to Supernatural. The next new episode of Tracker airs on Sunday, May 12 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, and you can revisit all the earlier episodes of Season 1 streaming with a Paramount+ subscription now.
