Clear The Track For TRACKER, Starring Justin Hartley as a Man Who Can Find Anything – Including Trouble
The lead character in the new series TRACKER has a uniquely straightforward business arrangement with his clients.
“I take no fees, no expenses, and a reward becomes a binding contract only in success,” says Colter Shaw, played by Justin Hartley.
Hmmm … would the world be a better place, or a worse place, if everyone operated that way? Regardless of that philosophical question, TRACKER debuts on Sunday, Feb. 11, at approximately 10 p.m. ET, in the coveted time slot immediately following SUPER BOWL LVIII on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app.
Hartley, who is best known to TV audiences for his six seasons as Kevin Pearson on THIS IS US, has a very different kind of role in TRACKER. Colter Shaw roams the country as a self-proclaimed “rewardist,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries – everything from recovering stolen luxury cars, to finding lost pets, to securing the safe return of missing people.
“Everyone’s looking for something,” Colter reasons.
But, TRACKER also delves into why Colter takes on these tasks, and behaves the way he does, in the wake of a childhood that was fractured by a survivalist father who went to extremes. Even though Colter essentially works alone, he has a makeshift family of helpers and confidantes, which includes Reenie (played by Fiona Rene), Teddi (Robin Weigert), Velma (Abby McEnany), and Bobby (Eric Graise).
“You know what I love about (Colter)? I think he’s a good man, and he wants to do good things for people in need,” Hartley said during a panel interview. “And I think we talk a lot about how he’s a restless guy. He can go in and sort of help a situation, there’s an outcome, and then he leaves. He has a hard time not running away. But I don’t think he intentionally runs away. I just think it’s how he is. He’s afraid of a lot of stuff, oddly enough, and I think that’s why he’s trying to fill this void that is probably unfillable.”
TRACKER is based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, but executive producer and director Ken Olin – who also worked with Hartley on THIS IS US – pointed out that some significant changes have been made from the book to the screen. One of the biggest alterations in tone has to do with what Hartley brings to the table as an actor.
“(Colter’s) skill set (in the TV show) is very much his skill set (in the book),” Olin explained. “His physicality, his relationship to women, those things are also very similar to the book. But I think probably the biggest adjustment that we made was to try to use Justin’s sense of humour. He’s so good with humour. The character in the book isn’t the same that way. He’s a much more silent kind of character. So we wanted to use Justin’s facility with humour. And also, I just think it translates well on television, it’s something that’s really appealing, and it’s something that’s very appealing about Justin.”
Hartley added, “there are certain things in the book where this character does a lot of calculations, and is sort of talking to himself in his head. You just can’t do that on screen. It would be very hard to watch. You’d be reading a lot. So, you have to figure out a way to show this guy, and what’s going on in his head, without just having him talk to himself all the time, which is not the character. He’s not a weirdo. He’s not constantly talking to himself, like Ken (Olin).”
“He’s not haunted,” a chuckling Olin agreed.
Haunted or not, Colter Shaw is the TRACKER to call when the more traditional avenues of investigation are not producing the desired results. Olin playfully admitted that after “six years of babies and dogs” on THIS IS US, he and Hartley were both looking for something that was “a little more story-driven, plot-driven. Plus, Justin wanted to carry a gun, and get into fights.”
