Tracker Season 3 Confirms Major Character Return For Finale

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Tracker will see a fan-favorite find his way back.

Justin Hartley stars in the popular CBS series, Tracker. He plays Colter Shaw, a skilled tracker who helps police and others across the country, earning money for his services. The show is inspired by the 2019 novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver and premiered on CBS on February 11, 2024.

Though Colter Shaw, like Jack Reacher from the popular Prime Video series, often works alone, he actually has a network of people who help him. This has allowed characters like Teddi Bruin, Velma Bruin, Bobby Exley, Reenie Greene, and Randy to appear throughout multiple seasons of the show. And, one character in particular has a close connection to Colter and will be back for more.

CBS has announced details for the season 3 finale of Tracker, titled “The Best Ones.” Jensen Ackles will reprise his role as Russell Shaw, assisting his brother Colter (played by Hartley) in locating the person affected by a harmful research project. The finale airs on May 24th at 9 PM Eastern Time. Elwood Reid & Travis Donnelly wrote the episode, and Ken Olin directed it.

As a big fan of both shows, it was really interesting to see Jensen Ackles pop up in Tracker! He’s currently killing it as Soldier Boy in the final season of The Boys, but earlier this season on Tracker, in the episode ‘Off the Books’, he played a character named Russell Shaw. That appearance was key to Colter finally figuring out his brother wasn’t involved in their father’s death, which was a huge moment for their relationship and brought them back together after years of being apart.

Let’s talk about Jensen Ackles’ return in Season 3. He popped up for the first two episodes, and it was fantastic to see him back as Russell. The storyline centered around a truly chilling operation called ‘The Process,’ which we last saw unfold in the episode “Leverage” on October 26th, 2025. Basically, it was a sophisticated blackmail scheme – commit crimes or your family suffers. Thankfully, by the end of those two episodes, Russell and Colter managed to take down the algorithm powering this whole terrifying system. It was a satisfying conclusion to that particular arc, and Ackles delivered, as always.

As of today, the next new episode of Tracker season 3 is titled “Struck” and is the 16th episode of the season. The show’s first season on CBS had just 13 episodes. Due to its popularity, Tracker returned for a 20-episode second season, and season 3 is even longer, with a finale featuring the Shaw brothers as its 22nd episode.

Though season 3 of Tracker will conclude with episode 22, fans can look forward to seeing Justin Hartley and Jared Padalecki work together again. CBS has already renewed Tracker for a fourth season, ensuring the show – a ratings leader among broadcast television programs – will continue. This renewal, and the connection between the Shaw brothers, hints at what’s in store for the future of the series.

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2026-04-09 21:50