CBS Wants Justin Hartley's Colter Shaw to End Up in More Danger on 'Tracker'

While some Tracker fans are always worried about Colter Shaw dying, CBS is pushing for Justin Hartley’s character to be in even more danger.

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, executive producer Elwood Reid weighed in on Colter’s fate as the hit show continues, saying, “Some of the danger is in here because he’s not a cop. He is this guy who is poking his nose in places.”

The feedback has been different from CBS.

“The network is always like, ‘He can get messed up, he can lose a fight, he can get conked on the head and he can have a gun pointed at him.’ Justin pitched an idea for the season 3 midseason finale where it doesn’t go well for Colter,” Reid teased. “That’s what makes him fun is he is not a superhero.”

Reid noted that the perk of Tracker‘s success is finding ways to raise the stakes.

“When I watch a lot of these types of shows, the minute the character becomes infallible or perfect then I’m uninterested,” Reid explained. “I like when characters have flaws and make mistakes and are mortal and can be wounded and can screw up.”

He continued: “I’m very conscious of not making Colter too perfect. We are scuffing him up, letting him screw up and letting him do the wrong thing. I think that’s what makes the character fun to write — at least for me.”

Based on Jeffery Deaver’s novel The Never Game, Tracker centers around a survivalist named Colter who travels the country helping to find missing people (or sometimes dogs) and solving cases others couldn’t or wouldn’t. Hartley, 48, who stars in the show is also an executive producer, hinted at how far the show will push his character.

“I just love that when you watch a show like that and you tune into season 1 and then you tune into the last season, you see the development of the character and you go, ‘Wait a minute, are they playing different roles?’ But then if you watch it throughout the years, you experience those things with the characters,” he told TV Insider in September 2024. “As competent and confident as Colter is, I don’t at all think for a second that he doesn’t have a ton to learn, especially about himself and his family and all that.”

He continued: “Going forward, I think that will be how the show lives on a long runway, is that we keep developing this character and he becomes better at what he’s doing. He’s a restless man, and for an audience member, at least shows that I love to watch, you love to see that growth of a character and we have that.”

Hartley also warned that the character could die in the future.

“It’s important to keep upping the stakes. I like being Colter as a hero, finding people and all that. I also really like seeing him in a suspenseful thriller and a dangerous situation,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in April. “I don’t want our audience to forget that this man is mortal, he’s not a superhero. He can die! The things he is doing are very very dangerous.”

Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Paramount+.