The Tracker season 3 premiere is set to be a family reunion for Colter Shaw.
CBS revealed that the first episode of the season is titled “The Process” and will air on Sunday, October 19. Jensen Ackles will be returning as Colter’s (Justin Hartley) older brother, Russell Shaw, much to the delight of fans.
“As Colter grapples with the shocking truth surrounding his father’s death, Russell (Jensen Ackles) joins forces with his brother to help track down the missing wife and daughter of one of Reenie’s clients,” the official synopsis of the episode says. “Their reunion finds them mixed up in a chain of events involving a sinister underground operation known as ‘The Process,’ on the third season premiere of Tracker.”
The premiere will be broken down into two parts, with the second part airing on October 26.
'Tracker' Brings Justin Hartley Home to Solve a Case — But Where Is Russell?
Ackles, 47, last appeared in the season 2 episode titled “Ontological Shock.” When viewers last saw Russell, he was helping rescue survivalist Colter from a military facility after he was mysteriously captured while looking for a missing person. The brothers were able to work together to find their way out of the facility, and in the process, uncovered some new truths about the death of their father, Ashton Shaw.
Ackles previously teased his return to the drama series in a July 30 video posted via Instagram. He panned the camera up to show that his trailer had the name “Russell” printed on the door.
In the clip, Ackles also encouraged his fans to watch his Amazon Prime series Countdown, which is currently streaming on the platform. The actor is also hard at work on the upcoming series Vought Rising, a spinoff of Amazon’s The Boys.
News of the Tracker premiere story line comes after it was announced that series favorites Eric Graise and Abby McEnany would not be returning for season 3. The absence of Graise’s character, Bobby Exley, from several episodes in season 2 caused speculation and raised questions for fans who were curious about his spot on Colter’s team.
Chris Lee filled in for Graise as Bobby’s tech-savvy cousin amid the character’s absence from the show. Bobby ultimately ended up returning to the series in season 2, episode 16, titled “The Mercy Seat.”
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Executive producer Elwood Reid explained the reasoning behind the casting shakeups in season 2 and hinted at what was to come in season 3.
“The only rule I really have of the show is each week Colter is going to come to a new place and there’s going to be a new case,” he told Us Weekly after the season 2 finale. “How he gets those answers and what he uses on the team, that’s all something that’s up for grabs.”
He continued, “Meeting these [local] weird characters is something we’re going to try to do more of as the season goes on. Just Colter coming in and interacting with other characters. That’s fun to see Justin flex those muscles with really good guest cast members.”
Tracker is currently streaming on Paramount+.