What's a professional mystery solver to do when he solves his biggest mystery of all? That's the question Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) is likely asking himself after the midseason premiere of Tracker, which finally put the case of the missing sister to rest.
The mystery surrounding Gina Pickett's disappearance has haunted Colter for a decade, but now the case has come to a bittersweet end. Gina died at the hands of a sadistic serial killer known as the Teacher and his disciples, but the search for her helped Colter save another young woman's life. Camille (Floriana Lima) finally felt like she could move on after spending the past 10 years essentially waiting for her sister to return. Now she's going to travel the world, and Colter's not a part of those travels, leaving him alone once again with his white whale case behind him. So what does he do now?
"I think he just retires," Hartley joked to Parade.
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Don't worry, because Colter would never retire as long as there are still missing people to be found. But he does have to find some time to deal with having such a weight lifted off his shoulders.
"There's a healing process," Hartley continued. "Probably right now, for the first time in 10 years, he's unburdened by something. When you come across people like that, what happens is they sort of evolve. They had this thing that was weighing on them for that long; a decade's a long time. And, all of a sudden, it's no longer there, and you have a couple of things that happen. Sometimes, there's a psychological, bodily reaction, a relief. And then there's also this thing you've had for 10 years that you no longer have, and now you're looking for a purpose and redefining what you're doing and why."
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A big part of Colter's evolution has to do with the people around him, since he's traditionally such a lone wolf. Hartley pointed out that most of the time, he meets people, learns all about their private lives very quickly, and then a few days later, he leaves and never sees them again.
"It's not like he has relationships," he explained. "He has the memories and the lessons learned."
This case, however, reiterated that sometimes Colter really needs other people. Without the help of retired detective Keaton (Brent Sexton), he probably would have never figured out what happened to Gina, and the case also reunited him with his ex Camille. These connections are slowly chipping away at some of Colter's walls, but it's gonna take a lot more than that to make him want to settle down and leave this "very intentional life" he's built for himself.
"He's not unlike a lot of people that I know in that they set their life up in a way that they can't be hurt," Hartley said, though he and the writers constantly discuss how to make sure Colter is developing as a character as seasons go on. It's just a slow process, and it's not like he'll be adding a permanent partner or jumping into a relationship after briefly reconnecting with Camille because of how deep that wound is.
"It's going to take some time," Hartley said of Colter's love life. "But people always say, 'I'm never doing that again,' but then inevitably, they do. So I think we'll see. I think right now, it's just not something he's entertaining."
As for what Colter is entertaining, his work continues. And there are mysteries still to solve, like what really happened to his paranoid father when he died, and why has it had such an effect on the family? Hartley said there's no timeline on that mystery, but they don't plan on "dragging things out for the sake of dragging things out."
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Colter also has an ever-evolving team working behind him in a way that's almost sort of organized, with Reenie (Fiona Rene) running her own law operation, Velma (Abby McEnany) as a sort of curator, and Bobby (Eric Graise) as the computer guy. They will soon also be joined by Randy (Chris Lee), Bobby's cousin, who Hartley is super excited to introduce the audience to. "He's going to come on and help us out in a very big way. I think people are going to fall in love with this character," he said. "He's an incredible, incredible guy, incredible actor, just a fun, great character and something I think we needed."
Together, they're almost like a well-oiled machine.
"I'm very proud of them," Hartley said. "They built their own little business. It's great. It's not a team show, but if we had a team, I guess that would be the starting lineup."
Even with the solid makings of a good team show, Hartley reiterated that Tracker will not become a team show, because TV already has plenty of team shows. That doesn't mean they won't keep giving us kick-ass team-ups, however. Colter's siblings are played by TV powerhouses Jensen Ackles and Melissa Roxburgh, but we haven't yet seen all three of them on screen together. When asked if we might get all the Shaws in one place soon, Hartley gave a strangely encouraging, noncommittal answer.
"I mean, I think that's what needs to happen," he said with a laugh. "But nothing I can confirm at this time."
For now, business continues as usual on Tracker, but be on the lookout for the invite to that inevitable family reunion.
Tracker airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Paramount+.
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