10 ‘Tracker’ Characters We Want To See Back in Season 3

As we dive into the third season of Tracker, Colter Shaw’s (Justin Hartley) past is haunting him more than ever. While the rewardist continues to uncover the secrets and lies about his family, Season 3 is gearing up to be the most intense batch of episodes yet. But you know what would make this season even better? The return of some familiar favorites. Season 2 brought back several recognizable faces from the first season, even if only briefly, and so we can only hope that Season 3 will do the same. Which characters should return? Well, we’ve come up with the 10 characters from past Tracker episodes who we would love to catch up with sometime this season.

Of course, we should note that there are a few obvious characters that we’ve left off this list. Since Russell Shaw (Jensen Ackles) is confirmed to be returning for at least two episodes, he won’t be included here below. Likewise, after Season 2’s climactic finale, we would be shocked if Mary Dove Shaw (Wendy Crewson) didn’t return, and considering Sofia Pernas is married to Justin Hartley, we can only assume that Billie Matalon will be making an appearance as well. So, with those characters out of the way, these are the Tracker characters we hope to see return in Season 3.

10

Bobby Exley (Eric Graise)

Admittedly, this one is the biggest stretch, but we’d still like to see Eric Graise‘s Bobby Exley return at least once more before his Tracker tenure officially comes to a close. After having been with the main cast since the beginning, Colter Shaw’s resident tech genius was said to have moved on to a new cushy job at a startup, no longer needing the extra income that reward-seeking provides. Nevertheless, Bobby was a consistent member of the show’s cast who, though replaced now by his cousin Randy (Chris Lee), will always be remembered fondly.

Between the second and third seasons, Graise (along with Abby Enany) was cut from the show’s list of series regulars in hopes to par Tracker down and give Colter more to do on-screen. While we’re excited about what that means come Season 3, an actual send-off for Bobby would be nice given how excited fans were about his return in the back half of Season 2 after a seven-episode absence.

9

Sun Mai (Dianne Doan)

Speaking of Bobby, back in the first season’s “Chicago,” Colter traveled to the Windy City to help a professional fighter friend of his, Sun Mai (Dianne Doan), get out of a jam. Though Sun could generally take care of herself, getting involved with the wrong people was far more than she could handle. With Colter’s assist, they were able to pull her out of her dire circumstances, with Reenie (Fiona Rene) offering legal support to help her get back on her feet.

“Chicago” ends with Bobby and Sun becoming a potential romantic item, though the rest of the series never addresses it. If Bobby was able to return for a final one-and-done Tracker farewell, then we’d love it if he were accompanied by Sun, bringing that story to a close and sending them both off happier than ever.

8

The Mysterious G-Man (Matt Passmore)

In the second episode of Season 2, “Ontological Shock,” Colter got himself in bad news with the U.S. government while stumbling on a case he probably should have avoided. Upon being abducted by a mysterious government agent (Matt Passmore), Colter is confronted about his work as a rewardist, but more than that, he’s questioned about his father. This mysterious G-man, called only “Government Official” in the credits, seems to know more about the Shaw family than Colter was comfortable with, but that character never comes back again.

With Season 3, Colter plans to dive a bit deeper into his father’s connections with the government. If he tugs on the wrong threads, it doesn’t seem particularly unlikely that this “Government Official” would show back up again. With Russell also making his way back to Tracker this season, could the three of them find themselves in some sort of Western-style standoff? We can only hope.

7

Clare Dillard (Alvina August)

One of the biggest one-and-done episode twists from Season 2 comes from “Neptune,” where one of the missing persons that Colter was tasked with finding was actually a spy. Unbeknownst to her husband, Clare Dillard (Alvina August) was a former government operative who found herself in the private sector — well, at least until her ex-boss turned on her, hoping to have her killed. Colter helps Clare get clear of the burn notice, but the episode ends with things a little shaky between her and her husband Logan (Oliver Rice).

If Colter does, indeed, take on the U.S. government in Season 3 — or at least begins to investigate a bit more intentionally — who better for him to go to than Clare? Although the whole point of “Neptune” was that she get out of the espionage game, that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have the right resources or connections to help Colter get the information he craves about his father.

6

Seth Adler (Ryan Robbins)

If you don’t remember Seth Adler (Ryan Robbins), we’ll forgive you. After all, he was the main antagonist of the show’s very second episode, “Missoula,” back in the day. The leader of a “wellness” cult, Adler had gathered dirt on many of the cult members to keep them (and their finances) locked in as long as possible, and he both violently and psychologically opposed Colter’s meddling. As one of the most fearsome villains of the first season, Adler made an impression on Colter, especially when we gathered intel about his father.

Admittedly, Seth Adler isn’t a character who absolutely needs to come back, but how crazy would it be if Colter was working a case, only for it to connect back to the Montana-based guru? If there’s one surviving Season 1 villain who deserves a second chance against our favorite rewardist (sorry, Peter Stormare…), it’s Ryan Robbins’ one-and-done cultish fiend.

5

Gus McMillion (Gil Birmingham)

While there’s very little that we know about Colter Shaw and his family background, in some ways, Reenie Greene is even more of a mystery. In Season 1’s “Into the Wild,” we learn that Reenie spent some time in North Idaho as a child with family friends, one of them being Gil Birmingham‘s Gus McMillion, the owner of a charter plane business. After Gus’ two kids go missing with a client, Reenie brings Colter in to help in the first case where the episode isn’t named after the city Colter is working in. It makes sense that Tracker began giving their episodes actual titles though, as Gus lives out in the middle of nowhere.

Not only is Gus a strong connection to Reenie’s past that deserves exploration, but Birmingham is a powerful actor who we would love to see more of on Tracker. With the former Yellowstone star set to play a part on CBS’s Y: Marshals in 2026, it’s possible that the network connection may open the door a bit wider to the return of Gus return on Tracker.

4

Special Agent Moss (Tahmoh Penikett)

While not every guest star on Tracker is played by a notable name, “Rules of the Game” introduced an FBI Special Agent by the name of Moss who was brought to life quite well by veteran TV actor Tahmoah Penikett. In a case that involved Reenie’s mysterious client, Leo Sharf (Pej Vahdat), things got hairy enough to call in the Bureau after bodies began to drop and folks were kidnapped. While Moss was initially hesitant to receive Colter’s help, he was ultimately grateful for the assistance, stopping the party responsible while Colter saved Reenie’s life.

Considering all the various criminal activities that Colter finds himself in the middle of, it would be helpful to have an ally on the inside like Moss. Especially if Colter ends up working in the Seattle area again, Moss could easily become a consultant of sorts to the rewardist as he helps find missing persons outside the law.

3

Ashton Shaw (Lee Tergesen)

From the very first episode of Tracker, Ashton Shaw (Lee Tergesen) has hung over the show, and Colter’s life, like a looming force that needs to be dealt with. Though Ashton’s life, death, and mysterious government connections has been a major driving force across the show’s two seasons, we’ve only ever seen Ashton himself (via flashbacks) in a single episode: “Klamath Falls.” That’s right, we haven’t seen Ashton on-screen since the Tracker pilot, and if Season 3 is truly going to dig into the cause of his death after his tussle with Otto Waldron (Alex Fernandez), then we need to see those events from his POV.

Obviously, Ashton Shaw is dead, but that doesn’t mean that the Shaw patriarch can’t return in some sort of flashback. Perhaps the most powerful way to display Colter’s relationship with his father would be to further expand on it in a way that audiences can put the pieces together themselves.

2

Keaton (Brent Sexton)

First appearing in the Season 2 episode “Trust Fall,” Brent Sexton made his mark on Tracker as the former Tacoma detective Keaton, a man who has been working to solve a cold case of his own for years. But when Colter arrives looking for some missing campers, Keaton jumps on board and the pair solve the case in record time. During their investigation, Colter shared with Keaton his struggles with a long-time missing person’s case, which Keaton promised to look into. He appeared twice more in “The Night Movers” and “The Disciple,” helping the titular tracker take down a serial killer known as “The Teacher” (Nicholas Lea).

Although only a recurring character in the first half of Season 2, Keaton proved to have resources and abilities beyond what Colter or his team could muster. Without him, Colter may never have discovered what happened to Gina Picket (Lina Lecompte), and it’s that kind of investigative prowess that could easily assist our hero come Season 3.

1

Dory Shaw (Melissa Roxburgh)

Knowing that Russell is returning this season (and that their mother is likely to as well), the only other living Shaw that we need more of is Melissa Roxburgh‘s Dory Shaw. A professor at Wyoming Science University, we know very little about Dory’s life or her work, other than the fact that she has kids who Colter and Russell don’t seem to see all too often. Though Dory appeared for the first time in “Beyond the Campus Walls,” she only cameoed in Season 2’s “Rules of the Game,” with hopes that she would return in Season 3 when Colter discovers more about his father.

Of course, Roxburgh has been busy headlining the NBC’s The Hunting Party, which has kept her from being a more regular presence on Tracker. Nevertheless, fans want to see the former Manifest star come back for thirds this year, hopefully in an episode that better highlights her relationship with her brothers.