The Messy Family Drama Is Actually the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Tracker

Colter Shaw wouldn’t be all that compelling just because of his job.

Just a few weeks after its premiere, Tracker’s first season easily pulled in millions of viewers and became CBS’s biggest hit of the television season, but the show likely never would have reached that level without some major plot twists that ultimately shifted Tracker’s focus in a very different direction.

What started out as an action drama about a detective with a somewhat odd job, the show ended its first season as a clever mix of detective-style plotlines and big personal issues, but not too much.

The first few episodes of Tracker simply followed Colter Shaw’s cross-country road trips, where he helped (for a reward, of course) citizens who had some mysteries to solve. Throughout the storyline, the character’s personality begins to emerge from the shadows as he tries to escape his own troubled past.

As Colter realizes that he has no choice but to deal with his family’s biggest problem, which is also tormenting him, his personal tragedy finally gives the show some space to explore Colter’s inner world.

At the same time, Tracker doesn’t let itself delve too deeply into the character’s personal issues because it keeps Colter busy with work that actually allows him to forget about all the family troubles, at least for a while.

While Tracker has no choice but to involve Colter more in the investigation into his father’s death years ago by the end of season 1, the show’s structure, which assigns a different case to each episode in a fairly strict fashion, still keeps Colter on track with work that he clearly prioritizes, even when it comes to some major personal issues that never leave him alone.

Whether or not things will change significantly in Tracker’s next season, there’s no way to predict anything about that until season 2 premieres on CBS this fall.