Justin Hartley Teases ‘Incredible Payoff’ in Final ‘Tracker’ Episodes, Hints at Shocking Season 3 Twist

Justin Hartley promises Tracker’s third season will raise the stakes, which could introduce a lot more danger for Colter Shaw.

“You are going to get the last five episodes in a row. So, you’re getting five separate movies. We call them little movies. As we’re inching closer to the end of the season, we creep closer and closer to the mystery of what the hell happened to Colter’s father,” Hartley, 48, teased to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday, April 20. “How did he die? Was there in fact another man in the woods? Did he get pushed? Did he get killed? Was it an accident? What the hell is going on with that?”

Hartley will get some help from his onscreen sister, played by Melissa Roxburgh.

“I end up with this box that’s been talked about and Dory, my sister, brings it to me. And now that I have it, does he go through with it? Does he go through with it and open up that box? Does he want to go down that rabbit hole?” he explained. “He gets a lot of clues and a lot of details about what happened to his father, and who was actually involved. And to see the damage I think is an incredible payoff.”

But what about season 3? According to Hartley, there is a setup for Colter’s next chapter as well.

“Of course, we have many more stories to tell. Now we’re in new territory. We have a couple of ideas. One of these is that Colter has all of these skills — he’s a survivalist and he knows how to be alone, and he knows how to find people and he’s gifted in that regard. He’s a great listener,” the actor noted. “But it would be interesting, I think, to see him be set up. In other words, to see him using all those skills to run from the authorities, because you’ve been set up for whatever reason.”

Hartley is looking forward to throwing Colter into the deep end, adding, “I’d love to have all that tie into the family background, the government. So, we’ll see. We’ve been kicking that idea around. We have a lot of different stuff that we’re talking about. We have the underlying theme of what we’re going to do next year, while not really changing the direction of where our story is going.”

While reflecting on the second season, Hartley pointed out how the hit CBS series attempted to remind viewers that they should still be concerned for Colter — despite his ability to seemingly escape from any dangerous situation.

“I don’t want our audience to forget that this man is mortal, he’s not a superhero. He can die!” Hartley noted. “The things he is doing are very, very dangerous.”

Tracker, which premiered in February 2024, is centered around a survivalist named Colter (Hartley) who travels the country helping to solve a variety of mysteries. After its debut, Tracker quickly became one of CBS’ top shows and has continued to break viewership records.

This success has paved the way for Hartley to surprise viewers by taking Colter to new heights — and by introducing exciting guest stars.

“It’s really the cool show now, right? So, we actually got really lucky. I feel like I blinked, all of a sudden woke up and it’s been 20 years. But I’ve been in this business long enough to have developed these relationships,” he added. “When you see the people on our show that are familiar faces and actors you know, like Jensen Ackles and my wife [Sofia Pernas], these are relationships I’ve had for a long time. I was really grateful I was able to do that. I think they trusted me knowing I’m not going to call them and ask them to do something, or invite them to do something unless I think it’s really cool and fun and would be good for them as well.”

Hartley has since gotten asks from other actors who want to appear on Tracker, saying, “So we start off on that foot, and then this show became what it is. It’s huge. People think it’s cool and want to be a part of it, which is also nice because it allows you to get a bigger pool of talent.”

Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.