Is Reacher too violent for you? Consider Tracker, which is also based on a series of page-turning thrillers (by Jeffery Deaver), also about a drifting loner with a dark past who risks his neck wherever he goes, with the scars to prove it. A few differences: Colter Shaw (the appealing Justin Hartley of This Is Us) leads with his heart, not his fists, though he more than holds his own whenever set upon by thugs. He’s also in it for the money, a self-described “rewardist” whose catchphrase is “I collect only in success.” And succeed this skilled tracker invariably does, though not always guaranteeing a happy ending.
Tracker is pretty much guaranteed a happy beginning, with CBS gifting the series the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot, providing many more eyeballs than the typical network premiere. (The show will regularly air on Sundays, comfortably sandwiched between The Equalizer and CSI: Vegas.) While maybe not the sort of “event TV” that’s entirely worthy of such a vaunted cultural spotlight, CBS could do worse, and it makes sense for the network on its most-watched night to lean into its strength: the weekly procedural.
Because another key difference from Prime Video’s Reacher (from Lee Child’s novels), which spins its baroque capers over an entire season, is that Tracker fits snugly into the CBS model, with Shaw resolving each case in a too-tidy hour. Then it’s off, payment in hand, with his Airstream bachelor pad to a new town, a new client, a new set of skeptical authorities to obstruct his mission, new bullies and bad guys. And perhaps a new woman (a cop and a doctor in early episodes) to impress with his fearless resolve, his Sherlock-level perceptiveness, his earnest resourcefulness and his killer rakish grin. (It should be noted that in two of the four episodes made available for review, Shaw goes shirtless within the first minutes.)
Shaw wouldn’t be a contemporary hero if he weren’t haunted by mysteries of his past, and when he’s not playing hide and seek, he’s flashing back to a childhood lived off the grid under the rule of an unstable father (Lee Tergesen) whose death remains unresolved. And while he travels solo each week, Shaw is in regular contact with a team including his quirky lesbian handlers (Deadwood‘s Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany from Showtime‘s Work in Progress) and the inevitable tech genius (double amputee Eric Graise), who so far only share scenes with the star over the phone or computer.
He does get regular visits from a saucy ex, Reenie (Fiona Rene), a sexy lawyer frenemy who says Shaw’s main problem is “You’re so damn interesting.” When a character has to say it aloud, it’s usually not the case, though some might consider being found by Justin Hartley its own reward.
Tracker, Series Premiere, Sunday, February 11, approximately 10/9c (after Super Bowl), CBS; Regular time period, Sundays (starting February 18), 9/8c