I Think Tracker Totally Has Spinoff Potential. What The EP Thinks About More Right Now
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Tracker will be back on the 2024 TV schedule soon for its second season after a whirlwind freshman installment, and the series is hotter than ever. The Justin Hartley-led CBS drama became an instant hit following its Super Bowl premiere. Plus, alongside Hartley's Colster Shaw, the show brought in his siblings played by Jensen Ackles and Melissa Roxburgh, making for a super fun (and well-cast) drama. So, with plenty of stories to be told, and many great actors to play them out, it seems natural that Tracker would expand. However, when it comes to a spinoff, one EP is explaining why they aren't trying to do that...yet.
With Tracker, there are definitely characters that could be explored more with spinoffs. Whether we're following Ackles and Roxburgh's Russell Shaw and Dory Shaw or Sofia Pernas’ Billie, which would be interesting since she is also a tracker, it feels like it'd be easy to make more quality series within this universe. It would give theTracker universe the chance to really dig into the backgrounds of some of the other characters since Colter is the central focal point of the flagship show, and I think many of us would love to see that happen.
However, showrunner and executive producer Elwood Reid told TVLine that may not be the best idea, at least for now:
It’s so funny because all my friends are like, ‘You’ve got to start thinking about spinning it off.' … Second seasons are very hard. I’ve seen this with shows where they spin them off too early, then both shows suffer.
It does make sense why Reid doesn’t want a spinoff right away. Tracker’s a very hot series right now, and Hartley has even been compared to fellow CBS star Mark Harmon. However, the show is still finding its legs, and it wants to expand this one universe first before creating others. While there are definitely other stories and characters that a spinoff can follow, it seems like Reid doesn’t want that to happen just yet.
Overall, Tracker is still pretty new, and there is a whole world left to explore and so many characters to meet.
Going into Season 2, Ackles is set to return for a few episodes, while Pernas is also reprising her role. Also, Colter is continuing to travel the country to find missing people, and he’s being introduced to new worlds and characters in every episode, as Reid pointed out:
The show is so singular with Justin [at its center] that it’s really important we keep expanding the world, expanding the cases, and [expanding] what Tracker can do. Unlike a lot of shows — unlike a cop show in New York or Chicago, where they’re always dealing with a homicide — I can go into any world. I can go into stock car racing, I can go into Nashville, I can go into any world I want.
Tracker could definitely benefit from including the guest stars more, if possible, especially if a character or certain story has spinoff potential.
It is nice that the show explores so many different stories in each episode and brings in new characters each week. However, there are so many stories I simply want more of, and a spinoff could solve that problem.
For example, it would be fun to see what Billie is doing as a tracker and perhaps dig deeper into her complicated backstory with Colter. It might be harder to have a show starring Jensen Ackles, even though that'd be amazing, since the Supernatural alum is busy with not one but two Amazon shows. Jennifer Morrison’s character could also be a possibility for a spinoff. Overall, the opportunities are out there, and I hope that someday one of these characters gets their own show.
That being said, it’s clear that Tracker has spinoff potential, and the flagship show likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon if it continues on the track it’s on now – no pun intended. There is time for a spinoff and opportunities to expand the series and explore the current characters and storylines. However, that time is not right now...but maybe someday it will happen.
