15 Shows to Watch If You Like CBS’ Tracker

Justin Hartley gained a legion of adoring fans after playing Kevin Pearson on the smash hit series This Is Us. Following that role, he switched gears completely for the CBS series Tracker. He plays a completely different character, a survivalist named Colter Shaw who lives a life on the road working to find missing persons in exchange for reward money. He uses skills he learned from his father, a fearless attitude, and a bit of help from a few others. Colter is up for doing whatever it takes to find loved ones for his clients, whether it’s hiking through the forest at night or wielding a gun in a house full of criminals.

Tracker has been a hit since it premiered following Super Bowl LVIII, and in March 2024, the action drama was renewed for a second season. With the first season coming to a close, it’s prime time to find another show worth watching for those who find Tracker appealing.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on August 27, 2024: Tracker may be renewed for a second season, but fans still have a long time to wait until the return of the Justin Hartley-led series. Thankfully, there are plenty of other similar series to watch during the wait.

15This Is Us Shows Justin Hartley’s Range

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This Is Us isn’t anything like Tracker, but the reason to watch it is to appreciate Hartley’s range as an actor. In this series, he plays Kevin Pearson, one of three siblings of the Pearson family, alongside his twin sister Kate (Chrissy Metz) and adopted brother Randall (Sterling K. Brown), also born on the same day. The characters are similar in some ways, both with overinflated confidence and difficulty connecting with others. But this is also fueled by those who adore them, from the people they work with to friends and family.

This Is Us is deeply emotional, with Hartley’s character at the center of many of the storylines. The tone and pacing are different, though both shows deal with childhood trauma and the death of the family patriarch under tragic circumstances. That’s where the similarities end, but anyone who has become a fan of Hartley after watching Tracker might enjoy seeing him in this other career-defining role.

14Walker Has A Similar Energy As Tracker

Walker is a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger starring Supernatural's Jared Padalecki. The show follows Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger who solves crimes and protects his town, all while searching for answers about the death of his wife.

Just like Justin Hardley in Tracker, Jared Padalecki perfectly embodies the tough guy hero for the modern age, delivering an epic performance that carries much of the series. Unfortunately, Walker was recently canceled, putting an end to one of the better reboots of a classic television series.

13MacGuyver Is Based On an Old Classic

MacGuvyer is a 2016 series that follows Lucas Till's Angus MacGyver, a skilled special agent who is adept at solving his problems in the most creative way possible. A remake of the 1985 series of the same name, MacGuyver ran for five seasons before coming to an end in 2021.

The original MacGuyver series helped pave the way for the "roaming hero" archetype portrayed in modern shows, like its 2016 remake and even Justin Hartley's Tracker. The reboot may not have been as popular as its predecessor, but it still sports many of the same gags and tropes that audiences came to love from the original series.

12Stumptown Is About A Female Private Investigator

Stumptown is a crime drama starring Cobie Smulders as private investigator Dex Parios. Based on Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth's graphic novel of the same name, Stumptown follows Parios and her team as they take on mysterious cases and fight criminals.

Stumptown sports an engaging cast of characters and plenty of compelling action that will keep fans of Tracker satiated as they wait for the upcoming second season. Despite relatively positive reviews, respectable viewership, and even an initial renewal order, Stumptown was eventually canceled after only one season.

11Burn Notice Takes Tracker's Premise To Another Level

Burn Notice tells the story of Michael Westen, a top spy who is "burned" by his agency and forced to go on the run. He eventually teams up with a group of other former spies to help him figure out why he was disavowed by his agency — and save the world a few times along the way.

Tracker tends to keep things on a small scale, but Burn Notice shows what the show would be at the espionage level, as its heroes trot around the globe to complete various missions and solve the occasional mystery. Fans of Tracker will certainly enjoy Burn Notice for its terrific ensemble cast and fun action.

10Reacher Occupies The Same Space As Tracker

Reacher is a Prime Video original series starring Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher, a retired military officer who finds himself drawn into the world of high-stakes espionage, deceit, and potentially world-ending plots. Based on Lee Child's Jack Reacher books, Reacher is one of the most popular new series streaming today.

For fans of Tracker's style, which primarily follows one action hero roaming around solving mysteries and defeating bad guys, Reacher is a perfect series to watch in tandem. Like Justin Hartley, Ritchson carries a terrific surplus of charisma in his portrayal of Jack Reacher, crafting a hero that everyone can root for.

9Sugar Is Much Darker And Genre-Bending

Colin Farrell heads up this binge-worthy mystery drama that Apple TV+ calls a “genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story.” Set in Los Angeles, he’s John Sugar in Sugar, a complicated man who spends his life helping others solve cases. Sometimes, this means getting involved in dangerous situations and doing things that haunt him. There are a lot of layers to Sugar, much like Shaw in Tracker. He holds a lot of his feelings and trauma close to his chest, leaving fans guessing.

Both characters are loner types who don’t let others get too close. Sugar is far darker and more sinister than Tracker. But for fans of the procedural show looking for something with just as much action and deeper, more graphic storylines, Sugar is worth checking out.

8The Cleaning Lady Shows The Other Side of Crime ​​

In Tracker, Shaw often takes down bad people who have kidnapped or harmed innocent individuals. The Cleaning Lady is an interesting flipside of the coin, showing things from the perspective of a seemingly good woman who gets caught up on the wrong side. Desperate for a transplant for her sick son, Thony (Elodie Yung) winds up involved in a criminal organization, helping them clean up crime scenes. But she’ll do whatever needs to be done to protect her son and prolong his life.

The Cleaning Lady is darker than Tracker and focuses on the wrong side of the law versus Shaw’s good guy persona. But it’s another underrated series of a similar ilk that fans of Tracker might not have heard of and will appreciate having on the radar.

7The Walking Dead Has Talented Trackers Too ​​​​

The Walking Dead might not initially sound like a show that’s similar to Tracker. But there are some elements that those who appreciate the new CBS series will love seeing in the zombie apocalypse series. Namely, it’s various characters who are just as skilled at tracking as Shaw. One of the most talented is fan-favorite character Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) who knows how to explore, analyze a scene, and follow someone’s path in virtually any situation. Like Shaw, he can also live off the land, whether that means killing, skinning, and cooking wildlife for sustenance or engaging in hand-to-hand or weapon-to-weapon combat.

There are many characters from The Walking Dead who grew up in circumstances similar to Shaw's, learning various tricks of the trade when it comes to navigating the outdoors that have served them well in this new world. While Shaw doesn’t deal with an end-of-the-world scenario, he does find use for his survivalist skills. Fans would love to compare and see whether Dixon might be able to learn a thing or two from Shaw or vice versa. Dixon is just as fearless a character as Shaw, if not more so.

6Found's Gabi Also Finds Missing Persons

Gabi Mosley (Shanola Hampton) is at the center of this series, working to find missing persons just like Shaw. While she doesn’t necessarily work for posted rewards, she does conduct private investigations and receives payment from the families and individuals who hire her. Like Shaw, she endured childhood trauma. In her case, she was kidnapped and held hostage by a disturbed man for almost a year. Both characters have also dealt with the loss of their father.

Mosley and Shaw are similar in that they keep people at arm’s length and have secrets they don’t share with others. Both are also fiercely dedicated to helping those in need, even the people who have been ignored or forgotten by law enforcement and tend to live relatively guarded lives for various reasons. They are both hard-headed lead characters who manage to endear themselves to fans.

5Poker Face’s Charlie Has A Unique Gift

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Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) on Poker Face isn’t a tracker like Shaw, but she has her own unique ability. She can look someone in the eye and instantly tell that they’re lying. While on the run from trouble, and through every episode of the show, Charlie encounters various situations whereby she finds herself at the center of a murder. Her skills prove invaluable, just like Shaw on Tracker, as she helps solve each one.

There’s the same formulaic structure in this show, though the victims Charlie is looking to help have already passed on while Shaw is on the hunt for people still presumed to be alive. There’s also a bigger overarching story in both relating to the personal circumstances of the two characters. There’s more humor in Poker Face, with each episode having a unique thematic tone. But fans of Tracker will love this show, too.

4Will Trent Is Deeply Endearing

Already renewed for a third season, Will Trent is about another highly likable man with a sordid past who works with law enforcement to help bring down criminals and save victims. Will (Ramon Rodriguez) is a special agent, however, working directly for the city of Georgia. He has an uncanny knack for looking at a crime scene and being able to piece together exactly what happened.

One similarity between the two characters is their inability to solve the most important cases in their lives: the stories of their own families. For Trent, it’s the identity of his mother and what happened to her (which he eventually learns) as well as the identity of his biological father. For Shaw, it’s who killed his father and why, and if his older brother had anything to do with it. The case-by-case nature of the episodes and the mild humor combined with loner types make for great TV with both.

3Bones Digs Deep Into Cold Cases

The victims on Bones have already long passed. All that remains is the remains. FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanz) works alongside forensic anthropologist Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel) to try and get to the bottom of each case.

Bones is more of a standard police procedural with comedic elements. It isn’t quite as serious as Tracker in the personal stories that are part of the plot, but it’s entertaining just the same. With so many seasons to watch as well, it’s the perfect show to start while waiting for the second season of Tracker, which likely won’t be until 2025.

2Person of Interest Involves High-Tech Stakes

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With a high-tech theme, Person of Interest follows Harold Finch (Michael Emerson), a reclusive billionaire and computer programmer who created a machine for the government that can predict terrorist attacks before they happen. When realizing his machine might not be used for good, he goes into hiding with it and recruits John Reese (Jim Caviezel), a former Special Forces soldier and CIA operative to help him use the machine for good. The computer can only advise of two names, however, but can’t discern who is the victim and who is the perpetrator. This requires Reese to do some detective work to figure it out before it’s too late — with the help of others, of course.

With similar action scenes, plenty of danger, and police involvement with characters like Lionel Fusco (Kevin Chapman), a formerly corrupt cop, and Detective Joss Carter (Taraji P. Henson), an ex-US Army lieutenant and military interrogator, they get the job done. Week after week there’s a new case, and while Person of Interest has a bigger overarching storyline, it pushes the same buttons Tracker does, and then some.

1The Blacklist Highlights A Charming Career Criminal

Raymond Reddington on The Blacklist helps the FBI track and take down some of the most heinous criminals, including people they don’t even know exist but who have done, and continue to do awful things. There’s a reason he’s in the know, however. He’s a career criminal known as the Concierge of Crime. And Reddington has a vested interest in taking down the people who also happen to be his competition.

There are moral and ethical dilemmas as a secret department works alongside Reddington to get criminals far more dangerous than him while also letting him walk free. Both shows deal with the criminal world, have exciting action sequences, and boast compelling lead and supporting characters that draw viewers into the plot week after week. While The Blacklist might have overstayed its welcome, with some fans believing it jumped the shark before its last few seasons, the show was one of the most intriguing on television when it premiered.