Tracker has become a fan favorite action drama since it premiered in 2024. Now in its second season, with a third confirmed as well, Justin Hartley is Colter Shaw, a skilled survivalist who searches for missing persons in exchange for reward money.
He’s a lone wolf in the field but has a team of others with whom he works remotely. One such character, however, has been noticeably absent, and fans are worried that Colter might have to find this missing character next, or worse, the actor has left the show altogether. Where did he go, and is he coming back?
Who Is Bobby Exley in ‘Tracker,’ and Where Is He?
Colter has a few people that he works with to get his job done. In the first season of Tracker, one of the best new network procedures, Velma (Abby McEnany) and Teddi (Robin Weigert) were his handlers, sourcing cases for him from their online research. They would also provide research assistance during cases if he needed it. However, Weigert left the show in Season 2, which left Velma as Colter’s lone handler. Her absence was explained away off screen: the couple had separated.
Velma is now sharing an office space with Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene), another person with whom Colter works. She’s an attorney and friend who goes out of her way to help Colter if he needs it. She takes her cut, of course, but her legal access and knowledge makes her invaluable. She’ll often get him out of personal trouble as well, so he get charged for something using his sometimes illegal methods.
The third important member of Colter’s team is Bobby Exley (Eric Graise), a computer hacker who works from his home base. Anything technical that Colter needs, like hacking into a building security feed, finding out someone’s identity or online footprint, or getting access to otherwise private records, Bobby can accomplish.
But Bobby hasn’t appeared in the last few episodes, which has fans wondering where he went. In Season 2, Episode 10, called “Nightingale,” Colter needs technical help, but when he calls Bobby, another man answers. It’s his cousin Randy (Chris Lee) who explains that Bobby is “still” away, dealing with some family issues. His cousin’s light-hearted nature suggests that Bobby is okay and will be back soon. Colter alludes to having worked with Randy before and seems confident he can do the job. Randy assures Colter that he has his back and he’ll sufficiently fill Bobby’s shoes while he’s away. Randy reminds Colter of a previous case he helped with and that he is the one who taught Bobby how to jailbreak his first phone, implying that his skill set is just as good, if not better.
The inference, then, is that Randy steps in for Bobby whenever he needs to take time off. Since the nature of Colter’s jobs is on the fly, Bobby usually has to be on-call at all hours of the day and night until the case is done. So, it would make logical sense that he has a back-up when he can’t be there. However, in Season 3, Episode 11, entitled “Shades of Gray,” Bobby is still not back, supposedly still dealing with his family matters. While Randy brings his own flavor to the show, fans had gotten used to Bobby and Colter’s rapport, as well as Bobby’s effortless delivery of whatever Colter needs and his booming confidence. Bobby being absent, even though the character was clearly crucial to both cases, has raised eyebrows.
Is Eric Graise Coming Back to ‘Tracker’?
Thankfully, Eric Graise does not appear to have left Tracker for good, like Weigert did. CBS indirectly confirmed that Bobby will be back in the latter half of the season since he is visible in a brief scene of the Season 2 mid-season trailer, in what appears to be an episode that hasn’t yet aired. Unless this trailer was made prior to his departure, and he just hasn’t been edited out, it leaves the impression that the character will return.
Some suspect that Graise’s absence could be part of a cost-cutting measure for the show. Many networks have been employing a cast rotation strategy to help reduce costs, and Graise may have been a victim of that. It’s worth noting that Rene also did not appear in the episode “Nightingale.” Shows like Grey’s Anatomy have recently cut the number of guaranteed episodes for some of its cast members to save money. Tracker can do the same thing.
It’s especially crucial that Bobby returns, however, because he’s the one person Colter can’t easily replace with someone else. While Velma has a knack for sourcing missing persons cases, Colter could easily find someone else to take on this task. Reenie is a formidable lawyer, and she is willing to help Colter on the fly, even if it means she has to drop everything she’s doing, is invaluable. But Colter could find a way around things if she wasn’t around. Plus, not every case he has requires legal assistance. But every single one needs some technical digging.
Bobby has a very specific and hard-to-find skill set. He prides himself in being able to accomplish the seemingly impossible. And while Randy possesses many of the same skills, he can’t replace Bobby’s steadfast dedication to the job and, most importantly, to Colter. They have a personal connection. Colter might know Randy, but not the way he does Bobby. Even before Colter calls Bobby to look into something about the case he already knows he’s working on, Bobby has already been working on it. There’s an unspoken synergy between them.
Fans Hope Bobby Is Back in ‘Tracker’
Fans hope that Bobby isn’t leaving the show, but his departure might be a way to create a more dynamic character arc for him. Fans will recall that in an earlier episode, Bobby went to Colter for help with a personal friend who was missing. The case was dear to his heart, and Bobby insisted on being in the field with Colter. Despite Colter’s resistance, Bobby went anyway and ended up saving Colter’s life.
Could there be trouble brewing with his family that will lead Colter to work on yet another personal case? Could Bobby end up being the missing person he had to find? There are so many directions this could go beyond just that he’s missing for the network to save some money. Graise is still listed on the show’s IMDb page as a main cast member, having appeared in all episodes to date, even though he technically hasn’t. Lee, meanwhile, is credited on his IMDb page as having appeared in two episodes of the show, although this information could be updated on the fly.
Graise doesn’t have any other projects coming up beyond Tracker, so the reason for his absence remains a mystery, and the only logical reason to land on is cast rotations and budgets. The actor previously had a main role on the series Step Up: High Water and appeared in several episodes of Locke & Key and Queer as Folk. Fun fact: Graise kicked off his career in an uncredited role as a falling and crawling walker in two episodes of The Walking Dead.
As a fan-favorite character, fans hope that Bobby will be behind his desk smiling and laughing at the mere suggestion that he can’t find something that Colter needs. He’s passionate about the job and one of the few true friends Colter has. Stream Tracker on Paramount+.
