'Tracker' Makes the Perfect Case for a Jensen Ackles Spin-Off | Review

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Russell (Jensen Ackles) and Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) in the 'Tracker' episode

Published Nov 1, 2026, 10:00 PM EST

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wonderful wife and precious daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, interviews, and breaking news on select occasion. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own, from supernatural thrillers to historical fiction. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" in 2025 from the Western Writers of America, of which he is a member. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.

Tracker fans can rejoice, because after a few episodes of wondering if we'll be seeing Jensen Ackles back as Russell Shaw this season, "Need to Know" finally gives us our answers. When Russell finally contacts Colter (Justin Hartley) about a job on the opposite coast, the duo meet up in Atlanta to help track down a missing family. With the Shaw brothers on the case, things get a little dicey, but there's nothing this pair can't handle. Whether Russell will be back for more episodes this season remains to be seen, but considering his presence last season, we can only hope.

This Week's 'Tracker' Brings Russell Shaw Back for More

In Atlanta, Georgia, Shaina Valko (Taissa Zveiter) rushes her paint-covered daughter, Ellie (Emelia Kahiha), indoors and sets her by the bath. Hoping to clean her little girl up before daddy comes home from deployment, the bath is cut short when Shaina hears the phone ringing. Soon after, her husband, Grant (Jeff Pierre), returns after six months to find a mess downstairs — a mess and clear signs of a struggle. Rushing upstairs, he finds the house empty, and from what he can tell, his family has been abducted. Elsewhere, Colter gets a call from Russell on a secure line after months of radio silence. He says he’s been surfing, but he switches gears to inform Colter about Grant's situation. He asks his brother to head to Atlanta and wait for Grant’s call, adding that he’ll meet him there when he can get away from what he’s doing — which, unsurprisingly, appears to be some shady government work after that deal he made last season.

Arriving in Atlanta, Colter enters an abandoned factory or building of some kind to meet Grant, who reveals to Colter that he was offered money upon his return home to retract his last mission report. When he refused to play ball, his family was taken — and a mysterious call afterward told him that he had 48 hours or his family would die. It turns out, Grant witnessed what he thought was an IED explode on a mission, which doesn’t feel like anything to kidnap anyone for, but it doesn’t change what’s happening. Colter needs more time to find his family, and so he suggests that Grant begin the report revoking process to buy him some, which the sniper agrees to. “I’m going to do everything I can for you,” the rewardist tells him. Arriving at the Valko home, Colter takes a look around to look for hidden bugs. It doesn't take him long before he finds one in the living room wall, and he sends a photo to Randy (Chris Lee) for analysis. Randy calls but warns him not to speak.

After bypassing the surveillance, he frees up Colter's movements just in time for him to find scratches and a paint trail leading to the backyard and behind the house near the garage, where a parked vehicle was clearly lying in wait. After getting a partial plate and a vague description — "blue truck" — from a witness who was there the day before, Randy does some of his tech magic and finds a location for the vehicle. At the Denver office, Reenie (Fiona Rene) arrives and gets a quick download from Randy about Russell’s return and the intensity of the situation. This clearly worries our resident lawyer, who asks to be kept in the loop. Might we suggest that there are real feelings for Russell brewing beneath that tough exterior? Tune in for more.

"Need To Know" Puts the Shaw Brothers Into Mortal Danger

Russell Shaw (Jensen Ackles) in the 'Tracker' episode "Need to Know"

Colter is able to track down the van and finds evidence that Grant's family held inside. But when he hears someone else walk up, he prepares himself for a fight, only for it to be Russell. With the Shaw brothers reunited, they catch each other up to speed on the case and decide to head inside and have a look — and then a body falls from the sky. Russell identifies the corpse as Hawthorn, Grant’s sniper partner who had taken the deal to revoke his report, who was thrown off the top of a building by a scarred killer, Caswell (Brent Chase). Colter pursues the assassin up to the rooftop only to corner him. However, Caswell makes his daring escape by successfully hopping from rooftop to rooftop. When Colter tries the same, he nearly falls to his death, giving the killer just enough time to get away. When Russell catches up with his brother, he reveals that Grant was actually on a mission involving advanced military tech armor.

While Grant wouldn’t have been privy to that information, his report about the explosion (which seems to have been a weapon malfunction) makes things complicated. Now the company involved, later identified as RossKelly Defense Systems, wants to cover it up — and they don’t care who they plow through to do it. Elsewhere, Grant begins the retraction process under the supervision of his commanding officer (Nigel Gibbs), who warns him that doing this will put all his other reports under a microscope. Randy calls the Shaw brothers and finds that Hawthorn’s payment was sent by a Gordon Marsh (William deVry) of RossKelly, but the funds were cancelled. Colter decides that, with time running out, his best bet is to confront Marsh directly, but Russell isn’t so sure. Instead, he goes to protect Grant, who he believes will be marked for death the moment he signs his new statement.

Russell's theory proves right, as Grant — warned by the elder Shaw brother — goes to the restroom to stall, only to be stalked and confronted by a man named Gomez (Gabriel “G-Rod” Rodriguez), who clearly is involved in the cover-up. Grant loses it the moment Gomez threatens his daughter, and it ends in a major bathroom brawl. When Russell does get there, it's only after a strange call from Reenie who is "just checking in" on Colter's brother to make sure he's okay. The whole sequence gives off major crushing vibes, and it seems like, just maybe, Tracker is trying to set up an actual romance between Russell and Reenie — which would certainly dash the hopes of some fans that Colter and Reenie would be the show's endgame. After Russell hangs up, he finds Grant hiding in the restroom stall and Gomez knocked out on the floor. Together, they come up with a plan to get the villain out.

'Tracker' Concludes With Another Happy Ending and a Tease For More

Grant Valko (Jeff Pierre), Russell Shaw (Jensen Ackles), and Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) in the 'Tracker' episode "Need to Know"

Meanwhile, Colter wastes no time breaking into RossKelly with a sleight-of-hand trick that gets him through the door. Surprising Marsh in his office, Colter learns that the company has a ranch they deal with such problems at, a heavily guarded place that Colter demands Marsh give him access too. When the young Shaw brother abducts the abductor, Marsh attempts to signal to some guards in the elevator that he's being taken, only for Colter to take out the goons and escape with his prize. When Colter meets up with Russell and Grant outside the compound (it's nothing like a ranch), the brothers convince Grant to use his sniper setup to post on a nearby cliff instead, giving them the cover they need and keeping him out of danger, since he's the one RossKelly wants in the first place.

At gunpoint, the Shaws have Marsh take them into the compound and quickly take out the two guards waiting for them there. Russell knocks Marsh out and leaves him in the car, but as he does so, Grant is grabbed by Caswell on the roof. Not that the Shaws are aware of this. For their part, they head back into one of the outbuildings and take out the posted guards, finding the Valko family tied up inside. Rescuing them from their captivity, the Shaws head for their escape plan. Russell takes the family while Colter runs into the scarred assassin holding Grant hostage. Fortunately, this isn't the Shaw brothers' first rodeo — not by a long shot. Russell fires his weapon to create a diversion, and Colter guns down Caswell the second Grant gets clear. Thus, the family is safe and reunited.

When the authorities show up to deal with the mess, Ellie gives Colter a gift to thank him for their rescue. Telling Grant to take care of them, he and Russell get a call from Reenie. She reveals that, upon delivering all the information regarding their wrongdoing, RossKelly will be held accountable. Even better, Grant has been cleared by the military of any problems on his part, meaning that the retraction won't be filed, and his career is still squeaky clean. Tracker ends this week's episode with Russell and Reenie setting potential date plans in Denver for the next week — it seems like everyone but Randy is getting a love interest this season — before he and Colter go out for beers. Could "Need to Know" be actually committing to a Reenie/Russell love affair? It's certainly possible, but that would require Jensen Ackles to be a more permanent presence on the series, which seems unlikely. Still, CBS ought to get this guy his own spin-off! Or at least a Paramount+-based action-thriller miniseries...

Release Date February 11, 2024

Showrunner Elwood Reid

Directors Ken Olin, Joel Novoa, Jeff T. Thomas, Aprill Winney, David Barrett, Jon Huertas, Bethany Rooney, Darren Grant, Nimisha Mukerji

Writers Ben H. Winters, Amanda Mortlock, Jai Franklin Sarki, Jordan Goodman, Dominique A. Holmes, Neda Davarpanah, Thomas Heminger

Justin Hartley

Colter Shaw

Pros & Cons

The Colter/Russell episodes are what many of us wait all season for.
Been missing Jeff Pierre for years since Walker was cancelled, and his role here did not disappoint.
Tracker is always at its best when it leans into the action.