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The return of an original Tracker character is now officially cleared. As one of TV's most-watched shows, the CBS procedural had high expectations to hit during the 2025-2026 network cycle. Just in its third year, the Justin Hartley-led project has had an impressive run thus far, especially when one considers how much the show has changed since its inception in 2024. Aside from what was happening in Colter Shaw's story, his team has also drastically changed over the years.
Fresh from the success of its debut year, Tracker lost Robin Weigert as Teddi. The reasoning for this remains unclear, but in terms of narrative, she apparently had to exit Colter's operation and move to help with family matters. Just a year later, CBS announced that Abby McEnany and Eric Graise weren't coming back as Velma and Bobby after season 2. At Tracker season 3 ended, Russell Shaw's story was left with no definite guarantee of returning anytime soon, which was disappointing, considering how great Jensen Ackles and Hartley's chemistry was.
Jensen Ackles Clears The Path For Russell's Tracker Season 4 Return
As Tracker season 3 wrapped up the mystery surrounding Ahston's death and mysterious dealings, the brothers were able to take down DARPA and save all the remaining victims of the program. Meanwhile, Russell was originally set on killing the guy off to ensure that there were no more loose ends. When he was offered new information about Ashton potentially doing something to Colter when he was younger, he pivoted and decided to comply with a new mission. To make it worse, he didn't tell his brother what he was up to, leaving his fate undefined.
Russell first appeared in the Tracker pilot via a flashback sequence. The younger version of the character was played by Matthew Nelson-Mahood.
The twist was assumed to have something to do with having an explanation for Russell's possible extended absence in Tracker. After all, with the brothers now on good terms, it no longer makes sense to keep them apart. Behind-the-scenes, Ackles' busy schedule has prevented him from being involved more, especially as he has a new upcoming project in Vought Rising. However, that hindrance has officially been lifted, as the actor himself recently revealed that he is just waiting for the people of Tracker to call him back to set.
Hartley and the team behind the CBS procedural have been very clear about wanting to utilize Russell for as much as possible. In fact, Tracker season 3 made him more prominent, as he returned the most times during the past cycle throughout the show's history. With Ackles effectively saying that he's ready to reprise Russell in Tracker anytime, it means that the path for the character's comeback for season 4 is now officially clear.
Why Tracker Season 4 Needs Russell Shaw
Colter will always be at the center of Tracker, and unless Hartley decides to step back or exit, this will be the case moving forward. Despite the change in format and genre, the show established its fan-base with him as the lead, and drastically changing that risks the show's success. That said, it's also not a secret that there's a need for Tracker to evolve beyond just a one-dimensional project.
As it enters its fourth season when CBS's fall 2026 officially begins, its best chance of doing that is diversifying its storytelling. Russell is ideally-positioned to be the motivating factor in doing that. There's nothing wrong with Tracker going to its roots from time-to-time. After all, the classic missing person case has been tried-and-tested. However, if CBS wants to change things as the show continues, pairing the Shaw brothers for other kinds of cases is a great start.
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