ThoughTrackeroffers a unique approach to the procedural format,Trackerseason 3 should make one big change to the way Colter Shaw’s team operates to make the series even better.Trackeris inspired byThe Never Gameby Jeffrey Deaver, which kicks off a series of novels about the character. The TV show follows Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) as he travels around the United States, finding people who are missing in exchange for the rewards offered.
Trackerhas proven to be a big success for CBS with its compelling case-of-the-week mysteries alongside an overarching narrative about Colter’s own past that wasteased further in theTrackerseason 2 finale. Much of the series, however, relies on Colter being out in the field alone despite having a support network that helps him with his missing persons cases. The series could improve its character dynamics by bringing his support team into the field with him more often.
Colter Only Interacting With Velma And Bobby In Phone Calls Shortchanges The Tracker Cast
The Actors Do Not Actually Work Together Often
Hartley’s Colter Shaw is in a new place in nearly every episode of the series. He has returned to some locations, but the show largely sees him on the move. While he travels with a trailer and prefers to camp while tracking down his missing people, the people he relies on for help have their home bases instead.
…the actors are not getting to work with one another in different combinations.
Lawyer Reenie (Fiona Rene) and handlerVelma (Abby McEnany), as ofTrackerseason 2, work out of the same office. The same is true of Bobby (Eric Graise) and Randy (Chris Lee), cousins who provide Colter with technical support. These two groups of people, however, are not in the same location, and they spend most of their scenes talking on the phone with Colter to provide him with information about his missing persons cases rather than getting to interact with Colter or one another too often.
While this means that Reenie and Velma have developed a friendship and a great dynamic, and that Bobby and Randy have a contentious relationship like siblings, the actors are not getting to work with one another in different combinations.Without cultivating different dynamics and different friendships, the series is missing out on potential storylines and cast chemistry that could bring a whole new dimension to the show.
Tracker’s Most Compelling Cases Featured Colter’s Team On The Ground
Bobby, Randy, And Reenie All Made It Into The Field Briefly
Though Colter mostly works on his own in the field while interviewing guest stars connected to the missing persons cases, he has a few characters that have joined him (or worked in opposition to him) on multiple cases, like Billie (played by Hartley’s real-life wife Sofia Pernas). It is fun to see those familiar faces pop up, but it’s rare for members of his own team to make it into the field unless they have a personal connection to his cases. Bobby, Randy, and Reenie have all pulled Colter into cases and met him in the field at least once.
Those personal connections to cases help to make those episodes more compelling. Randy, for example, asks Colter for help finding his ex-girlfriend’s missing friend inTrackerseason 2, episode 17. He had only been in a handful of episodes at that point.Randy joins Colter in the field, and it allows the audience to get more backstory for Randy, see him more emotional than usual, and allows Colter to explore a new dynamic with Randy beyond just him talking into his phone.
Likewise, when Colter responds to a call from Reenie after one of her client’s assistants goes missing in season 2,Reenie actually ends up becoming a kidnapping victim herself during the events of the episode. Colter then has personal stakes in the case.While the audience is not going to want to see Reenie or any other members of the team become damsels in distress on a regular basis, Colter’s friends and the people he appears to trust most in the world being involved in the cases help to make the storylines more personal.
Tracker Season 3 Should Get Colter’s Team To Join Him More Frequently
Tracker Should Capitalize On The Cast Chemistry
WithTrackerseason 3 on the way, the series could make a simple change to keep the audience more engaged in the series.Trackerneeds to bring the various members of Colter’s support team into the field with him more often.
It’s made clear that Reenie has no problem hopping on a flight and putting her other cases on hold to help Colter with a client. Randy also drops everything to meet Colter in the field. Their times with Colter in the field demonstrate a great chemistry between the cast members, and the series should really capitalize on that chemistry instead of keeping the characters so separate from one another.
While the team cannot travel to meet up with Colter every week, getting at least one of them, if not more, out in the field on a regular basis would help the show make real strides in building cast chemistry and giving the audience more personal investments in the storylines.
How Velma, Reenie, Bobby & Randy Can Be More Involved With Colter’s Operations In Tracker Season 3
Colter’s Cases Could Bring Him Closer To His Team
Outside of placing the friends and family of Colter’s teammates in danger on a regular basis, it might not seem like there is a way to bring members of the group into the field.The answer might not be bringing them to Colter, but bringing Colter to the team.
Season 3 could test the waters…
The nature of Colter’s work means that he is always on the move. He does not appear to want to put down roots anywhere, and he has friends and acquaintances all over the country. Knowing that he relies on Reenie’s legal expertise, Velma’s vetting of the cases, and Bobby and Randy to help him from a technological standpoint,the show could see him take a string of missing persons cases in one of the cities where his teammates actually live.
Not only would that allow Colter to interact with his teammates in person for more than a single scene every few episodes, it could also allow the show to do the rare two or three-part storyline. Right now, every episode stands alone when it comes to the cases of the week. It’s Colter’s family story, only hinted at here and there, that provides a longer narrative arc. Allowing Colter to stay in one place for more than one episode, interacting with the same characters, and in one of their homes, could go a long way toward bringing the characters together.
The best way would be for Colter to investigate more than one missing person in the same place over multiple episodes before he moves on to a new case and a new location again.Season 3 could test the waters there to see if having multiple cast members together for a few episodes elevates the cast chemistry and makes theTrackerstorylines even more engaging.
