Tracker Is Ready to Make CBS History With a Wild Crossover That’s More Possible Than You Think

Justin Hartley’s survivalist show, Tracker, could be part of a historic network achievement through a crossover event conceptually within reach. The series quickly became one of the network’s most popular offerings when its first season aired at the beginning of 2024, and the Colter Shaw series has remained one of the most popular shows on television since.

Per Variety, Tracker Season 3’s premiere drew nearly 13 million viewers in its first week. Variety also reported that, heading into its holiday hiatus, Tracker reigns as one of the most popular shows, virtually tying with ABC’s High Potential as network TV’s most popular entertainment series, not including news and sports. Not far behind is Matlock, CBS’s other standout procedural.

Matlock Star Jason Ritter Teased A Crossover With Justin Hartley’s Tracker

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Tracker has had some historic moments in its third season. The premiere of Tracker Season 3 featured the series’ first two-part opener, with the first installment ending on a cliffhanger, roping Colter (Hartley) and Russell Shaw (Jensen Ackles) into The Process. That said, the series could make history again by crossing over with Matlock, another popular CBS series.

While the series hasn’t crossed over with any other CBS shows, it’s within reach. Matlock star Jason Ritter teased the crossover event this year, saying, “If Tracker ever wants a partner [for Justin Hartley’s character, Colter], maybe Julian leaves the firm, and he starts a new life” (via Us Magazine). Ritter plays Julian in Matlock, Madeline’s (Kathy Bates) colleague.

Colter already has a lawyer, Reenie Green (Fiona Rene), but the crossover could work. Julian has come close to leaving the firm in Matlock Season 2. However, his ex-wife, Olympia Lawrence (Skye P. Marshal), has convinced him to stay and gather evidence against Senior (Beau Bridges). Still, there’s an even better crossover opportunity that the series could lean into.

How A Matlock And Tracker Crossover Could Actually Work For CBS

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Julian doesn’t need to leave the firm and start a new life for a Tracker and Matlock crossover to happen. Still, he may want to reconsider after the events of Matlock Season 2’s fall finale, which saw the father of two discover that Olympia was working with Madeline on her Wellbrexa investigation, marking a huge turning point for the series.

Instead, the shows can lean into their overlapping elements. Colter crosses into plenty of legal territory in his high-stakes Tracker cases, which is why he has an on-call lawyer. On the other hand, Matlock is a legal procedural, and oftentimes needs to find a missing person. There are plenty of different ways the shows could combine their elements.

For instance, if Colter were near New York City, Madeline could get his number from a friend to find a missing person. Madeline often needs to track down key witnesses, and while Matlock is typically able to hunt them down, she could call Shaw in if a particularly elusive person needs to be found to break a high-stakes case.

If the show wanted to do a two-part event, Tracker could start the event with Madeline Matlock enlisting Colter’s help, perhaps with Bates briefly appearing to read Colter in. Once Shaw finds the missing person in Tracker, Matlock could then bring the story home with a memorable case, and Shaw could stick around to see how it shakes out.

Will Matlock And Tracker Actually Crossover In The Future?

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While the possibilities of putting Bates’ Madeline Matlock and Hartley’s Colter on-screen together are endless, it’s worth considering whether the series can actually achieve a crossover event. As of writing, the Tracker and Matlock crossover exists only as a pitch from Ritter, but there are several reasons that the prospect could work out in the future.

The most prominent reason the crossover would work out is that Tracker and Matlock both air on CBS, making a network crossover feasible. While the series doesn’t air back-to-back, like NCIS and NCIS: Origins do, which have a special crossover event this year, Tracker could move from its Sunday night slot to air with Matlock on Thursday, or vice versa.

The most challenging part of a Tracker/Matlock crossover event would be filming it. Though it takes place in New York, Matlock films in Los Angeles (per Variety). Hartley’s series, on the other hand, primarily films in and around Vancouver. That said, it could be worth the hassle, especially if the shows remain two of the most popular series on television.