Being responsible for a successful show such as Tracker comes with its challenges — and has kept star Justin Hartley too busy.
“He lives and breathes Tracker,” Hartley’s costar Fiona Rene exclusively told Us Weekly at CBS Fest on Wednesday, April 15. “We were joking around the other day. He was like, ‘I used to have a life. I used to have friends.’”
Rene praised Hartley’s devotion to his job.
“What I’ve learned specifically is his attention to detail while we’re shooting,” she added. “Not only is he at home reviewing the scenes and making sure that he feels good about everything and coming to set and doing his role, but he comes in as his executive producer and goes through and says, ‘Wow, this moment didn’t feel right on your seat. Let me talk to you about this. Let me feel this out.’ He’s very, very generous.”
Tracker, which premiered in February 2024, follows survivalist Colter (Hartley) as he travels the country to help find missing people, track down information on criminal cases and more. Hartley reflected on the show’s overnight success in a recent interview with Men’s Journal.
“One of the things I really love about Colter and the way we’ve built him is that he doesn’t apologize for his masculinity,” Hartley said in August 2025. “I think that’s what people are looking for. You’re asking yourself, ‘What kind of people do I want to hang out with?’ And particularly: ‘What kind of male friends do I have in my life that I really value?’”
The actor was thrilled with the example Colter sets on the show.
“I think we’ve crafted a character that is so emotionally evolved, and he really does want to get to the root of why people do things,” Hartley continued. “The facts are that [executive producer] Ken Olin and I set out to do a show that was in fact a throwback. We wanted a new spin on a procedural, meaning our character would evolve over time.”
Hartley added: “He would not just remain the same exact person every single week. We were hopeful people would like it. People ended up loving it. I think there’s a huge appetite for this kind of show.”
Hartley also hinted at how far the show will push his character.
“I just love that when you watch a show like that and you tune into season 1 and then you tune into the last season, you see the development of the character and you go, ‘Wait a minute, are they playing different roles?’ But then if you watch it throughout the years, you experience those things with the characters,” he told TV Insider in September 2024. “As competent and confident as Colter is, I don’t at all think for a second that he doesn’t have a ton to learn, especially about himself and his family and all that.”
He continued: “Going forward, I think that will be how the show lives on a long runway, is that we keep developing this character and he becomes better at what he’s doing. He’s a restless man, and for an audience member, at least shows that I love to watch, you love to see that growth of a character and we have that.”
Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 9 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Paramount+.
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