Tracker is expanding its season 4 cast by promoting a cast member following multiple offscreen exits.
According to Deadline, Cassady McClincy Zhang has been promoted to series regular after joining the show as Mel. Zhang, 26, recurred throughout season 3 when she was introduced as Reenie’s (Fiona Rene) new hire with her own mysterious past.
Zhang joins Justin Hartley, Rene and Chris Lee, who are all series regulars on the hit CBS series.
Tracker quickly found success when it premiered in 2024, following fictional survivalist Colter (Hartley) as he helped solve various missing persons cases. Viewers were also introduced to his team: handlers Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma (Abby McEnany), hacker Bobby (Eric Graise) and attorney Reenie (Rene).
Weigert’s character was later written off in the season 2 premiere as her wife, Velma, admitted that they needed some distance. Velma then started working with Reenie, and Teddi wasn’t discussed on the show again.
News later broke that Graise and McEnany wouldn’t be coming back for season 3. In their place, Lee returned as Randy and McClincy joined in the role of Mel.
“We didn’t ‘replace’ Velma or Bobby. It’s about where I get the most creative juice,” executive producer Elwood Reid told TVLine in September 2025. “What happened with Randy last year was that he popped in these little pieces with Fiona, and I thought, ‘He makes Fiona better. What if they were in the same space every week?’”
Reid further elaborated on the shakeup while speaking to Us, explaining, “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. 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.”
More recently, Reid noted that Hartley’s fan-favorite character was only one constant on the show.
“The audience leans in because they’ve seen that character before. But I think they’re still thinking the central DNA of the show is Colter. With this guy, what makes him appealing is he is a mystery to himself,” he told Us in December 2025. “He’s a mystery to the audience. We see him and his off time putting together some pieces of his past.”
He concluded, “I don’t know if we’ll ever put it all together, but he’s going to struggle to continue to do that. That’s just as far as we have thought. The biggest improvement we made this year — in my opinion — was getting people in the same room. Just that connectivity, I do think the audience is enjoying seeing their characters in the same place physically.”
Tracker returns to CBS Sunday, October 4, at 9 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Paramount+.
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