Okay, so I went into Tracker with cautious optimism. As a new-ish fan of The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, I was definitely curious to see how they’d bring Colter Shaw to life on screen, especially with Justin Hartley (This Is Us) taking the lead. He’s got the charisma, sure, but could the show really capture the calculating reward-seeker from the book?
Short answer: sort of. But let’s talk about it.

The pilot episode sets the stage well enough. We get the Airstream trailer, the lone-wolf lifestyle, and Shaw’s habit of calculating odds in tense situations, very on-brand if you’ve read the novel. But from the get-go, it’s clear this isn’t going to be Reacher-level prestige. The production design feels more like a standard network procedural. Honestly, it reminded me of The Finder from 2012, but more serious, less quirky.

The dialogue sometimes feels like it was written by someone trying to explain a Wikipedia page out loud. That said, they do introduce Colter’s fractured family history pretty well, it’s just that we get drips and drops of it, mostly through flashbacks that feel disconnected from the main plots.

And yep, this is a full-on case-of-the-week format. Each episode has Colter finding a new person, solving a mystery, and moving on. Episode two dives into a cult situation, which actually felt like a great match for the show’s premise. But I’ll admit, by episode three, the novelty started to wear thin. Not terrible, just not gripping.

Still, Tracker isn’t trying to be Shakespeare. It’s more like a comfort procedural with hints of something deeper. If you’re here for compelling mysteries and layered character arcs, it might test your patience. But if you’re cool with a mildly brooding Justin Hartley tracking people and slowly unpacking family secrets, you’ll be entertained.

Also, shoutout to the guest stars this season: Manifest’s Melissa Roxburgh, Once Upon A Time’s Jennifer Morrison, and of course, Supernatural’s Dean Winchester or The Boys’ Soldier Boy Jensen Ackles. I mean, that’s a fun genre-TV trifecta.

So while Tracker has its flaws, some wonky pacing, disconnected storytelling, and writing that could use a polish; I’m still enjoying it. It’s an easy, engaging time-waster that’s laid solid groundwork for a potentially better Season 2.

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