Tracker Review: Justin Hartley's CBS Procedural Has Promise but Plays It Too Safe

Fans of TV procedurals have an abundance of shows to choose from for their viewing pleasure these days, and on Super Bowl Sunday, using its prime postgame time slot, CBS's Tracker — created by Ben H. Winters and based on Jeffery Deaver's novel series — is throwing its hat into the ring. Will it be the one broadcast procedural to rule them all? Jury's still out. Tracker follows Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley), a man with a special set of skills thanks to his childhood spent off the grid, who takes on missing persons cases and collects the reward money once he locates said person. Some people refer to him as, well, as a "tracker," because he tracks down missing people; some call him a "mercenary," because he's there for the money; but Colter would call himself a "rewardist," which is definitely a word he made up to make himself feel better. We will get his job explained to us repeatedly. Every episode finds Colter taking on a new case, heading out in his souped-up Airstream, and relying on his know-how, charm, and an eclectic team to solve the case — and then doing it all over again in the next episode.

If it sounds straightforward, that's because it is. But that's not a knock at all — in the four episodes made available for review, Tracker proves its episodic premise is more than viable. If you're skeptical and thinking that missing persons cases are all the same, the first four episodes show off a wide variety of mysteries to be solved; there are clearly lots of stories to be told within this format. Where the repetitiveness has already seemed to creep in, though — again, this is only after viewing four episodes, so things could change — is in the ease with which Colter closes his cases. The outcomes might be different (does he find the person in question alive or dead?), but Colter doesn't ever seem to come up against any real obstacle that he can't figure out in 42 minutes, and there's a real lack of dramatic tension there because of it. Colter obviously has to be great at his job (seriously, what is tax season like for this man? Bring me that show!), but for a man who works outside the law, he has a whole lot of what feel like unearned wins. Even on the rare occasion when Colter gets arrested for his less-than-legal tactics, he's almost immediately let go. It feels like he's always winning — yes, even when he has to make a 100 foot drop into a dicey looking river, which is a thing that happens. Sometimes he makes the job look so easy that it's difficult to really get invested in the twists and turns of each case — Colter is always going to figure it out.

5.9

Tracker

at CBS

Like

• There's a great group of supporting characters
• Justin Hartley and Fiona Rene are compelling scene partners

Dislike

• The show deprives itself of some much-needed chemistry by leaning into Colter's 'lone wolf' personality
• The dramatic tension is zapped because obstacles are overcome so easily

Even if that element doesn't change in later episodes, there are other ways Tracker is working to get you invested. First, we need to talk about Colter's backstory. Who doesn't love a handsome man with a sad backstory? Without giving anything away, in the pilot we learn about a tragedy Colter's family suffered when he was a child and get a few hints as to how that tragedy is still playing out in the present. Just when you think you know exactly what that tragedy is, Tracker adds an extra twist that makes it much more interesting. It's a smart move: It both sets up an overarching mystery we're going to watch play out over the season — a connective tissue for the episodic series — and gives Justin Hartley much more to play than "lone wolf who's good at outdoorsy stuff." Hartley is well cast here, even if he does seem a bit muzzled in this role. He's got a face you can trust, so it's easy to believe just how quickly his clients, the victims in each case, and other people he gets involved with trust him, too. He has an easy charm about him but can also slip into the serious, emotional aspects of the role without hesitation — and with a past that haunts his character, we can assume there will be more intimate moments in the future. The problem, however, is that Hartley's gorgeous work over six seasons of This Is Us proved he can be even more charming and deftly handle emotional moments in a more intense way than Tracker allows. The writing doesn't go deep enough to really let Hartley do his thing; it feels too safe and surface level. 

Tracker is also working to get people invested through a tried-and-true procedural element: the quirky team. Here is where Tracker really has a ton of potential. The first four episodes set up a great group of recurring characters working with Colter. There are his handlers, Velma (Abby McEnany) and Teddi (Robin Weigert); his tech guy, Bobby (Eric Graise); and the very handy lawyer Reenie (Fiona Rene). Already I'm interested in knowing more about these people, both as individuals and how they came to be part of Colter's team. There's a lot to mine there, and all four characters already feel more than one-dimensional. The problem, however, is that the only one Colter interacts with face to face is Reenie. He's a lone wolf, remember? Most of his teamwork is done over the phone, which completely and immediately dampens any chemistry that's being built. We want to see these people interact not just with Colter, but with one another. Think of other great procedurals where you know, for the most part, mysteries will be solved by the end of the hour, shows like Bones or House — the team camaraderie and interplay is at the top of the list of reasons why you come back each week. By having Colter out there on his own for the majority of the time, the show is willingly giving up what could be one of its strongest aspects. 

You know how I know this is true? Because Colter's face-to-face scenes with Reenie Greene are easily the best part of Tracker. When Reenie shows up, the show immediately takes on a fresher, much less stoic energy. Fiona Rene has a ton of charisma, and she and Hartley have great onscreen chemistry. Those two give good repartee. There's a sparkle to their back-and-forth that doesn't exist elsewhere in the show. A show about kidnappings and missing people will inherently be full of heavy subject matter, so balancing that out with a little lightness is imperative, and that's where leaning on the quirky team of the procedural can pay off. The scenes between Colter and Reenie are a breath of fresh air in a show that can otherwise feel stodgy at times. It's not a leap to think that more face-to-face interaction with other team members would do the same. The mere existence of Colter and Reenie's scenes points to Tracker having a whole lot of elements that could help it stand out among the sea of other TV procedurals — it just hasn't successfully used them to their fullest extent yet.

Premieres: Sunday, Feb. 11 after the Super Bowl on CBS
Who's in it: Justin Hartley, Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, Fiona Rene, Mary McDonnell
Who's behind it: Ben H. Winters (creator, co-showrunner), Hilary Weisman Graham (co-showrunner), based on the book The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver  
For fans of: Justin Hartley, procedurals about people with a special set of skills
How many episodes we watched: 4