Combining elements of a police procedural with other action-thriller quirks, Tracker stands as a familiar but nevertheless competently made drama that sits snugly between easy viewing and harder-edged entertainment for adults. With only a few episodes out at the time of this writing, the jury’s still out on whether Tracker will be able to focus on larger themes or at least a more unified worldview, the absence of which has made these current episodes feel more inconsequential than they probably should. But Colter Shaw’s vulnerability and his wide range of abilities—not to mention Justin Hartley’s naturally magnetic presence on screen—give the series a dynamic, slightly unpredictable quality that similar shows lack.
"Tracker works fine for a network drama, but it’s no standout. If not for Hartley’s star power, it would be forgettable, especially since Colter Shaw lacks the charisma of Kevin Pearson."
— Aramide Tinubu
Lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family.
A self-proclaimed "rewardist," Colter Shaw uses his skills to help find missing persons in exchange of reward money.
Normally, having a stoic, handsome dude with a vague past and a loosely defined set of skills as the lead of an action-oriented series feels like the most basic, creatively bankrupt idea a show could have. But somehow Tracker allows Hartley's Colter to maintain an everyman quality about him, even as he's saving lives. He still isn't the most interesting protagonist around (yet), but it helps that Colter is limited by many things that the rest of us would also have trouble with—causing him to rely on a network of friends to help him get out of situations that can't be escaped through charm of brute force.
Going to report myself as missing so Justin Hartley can find me.
