Though I'm someone who usually appreciates dark and heavy storylines, even I have to admit: Tracker season 3 needs to dial it back. Tracker season 2 wrapped up a few weeks ago, and with it, we got more answers about the death of Colter's father, Ashton Shaw. Yet, the Tracker season 2 finale also raised more questions. Newcomers also brought new storylines; Tracker season 2 introduced Chris Lee's character Randy, who appears set to be a permanent part of the cast moving forward as Bobby's cousin and hacker partner in a move sure to delight audiences considering how well-received he was.
The sophomore season of any show is always a challenge with the need to prove to audiences and network execs alike that the huge success of its first season wasn't just a fluke. To that end, Tracker season 3 was already greenlit months ago, a testament to how solid its ratings have been. That said, while there were highlights in the season, fans, including myself, had a fair bit of criticism for some creative and narrative decisions made by the team that didn't quite land.
Tracker Season 2 Was Much Darker & Full Of Death Than Season 1 For No Real Reason
There Were Way Too Many Serial Killers
Season 2 of Trackerwas noticeably darker and far more gruesome than the first season. While very few episodes last season involved murder, season 2's body count was absurdly high. Serial killers featured in multiple episodes, including "Monster," which included a bloody, headless corpse in one scene and a severed head in another. Cults and weird religious sects were also rife, and one episode involved a government conspiracy found Colter stumbling across the corpses of five agents who had been executed. As such, Colter did a lot more killing in season 2, and it was disappointing to see so many of his cases being resolved with the business end of a gun rather than his wits.
It wasn't just the rampant murder that was new to this season, there were also other notable differences, enough that it was a little jarring. Tracker season 2 definitely got paranormal and weird, opening up the show to government conspiracies and aliens, witchcraft, two different episodes where a pair of girls go missing because they're exploring a local urban legend or a bit of folklore, and, in Tracker season 2, episode 16, "The Mercy Seat," even a brief allusion to the Wendigo. As someone who loves a great cryptid story and doesn't mind gore, the tonal shift of season 2 was unexpected, and not necessarily in a good way.
I'm not sure why these changes were made, and, judging by this season's ratings, it may have been a mistake; according to TV Series Finale, Tracker season 2 averaged a .49 rating in the 18-49 demo, a drop of -34.12% from season 1's .74 rating, and an average viewership of 7.999 million, down from season 1's 8.29 million average. The show is still an enormous success for CBS, so it's not as though it's in danger of suddenly falling off a cliff. Still, those figures are telling, and it's arguably down to the drastic shift in tone and focus in the sophomore season.
It Seems To Want To Become Like Other Shows
There's no doubt that America is in our true crime moment, the more salacious and horrifying, the better. We're obsessed with it – some might argue a little too obsessed, considering how many true crime and serial killer documentaries and series have proliferated on TV and streaming. To me, it felt as though Tracker season 2 was trying to tap into this zeitgeist. It would have been understandable had Tracker been flagging in ratings and needed a revamp, but it was wholly unnecessary – Tracker was CBS' biggest freshman hit in decades, and we didn't need serial killers and murder to get us to come back for season 2.
I would argue that Tracker season 2 tried to borrow from other popular shows and trends, as well. There's an unmistakable influence from Supernatural already with the premise of Colter driving all around the country to various towns to help people – and, of course, the connection with Jensen Ackles playing Russell Shaw. This season felt like it took a tiny bit of its DNA from The X-Files, as well, and it was undoubtedly influenced by the rise of interest in cryptids, aliens, and folklore on the internet. Heck, even the enormous success of Reacher, to which Tracker has been compared from the start, might account for the increased kill count and violence this season.
Tracker Season 3 Needs To Return To What Made Tracker Special In The First Place
It Lost Itself In Its Sophomore Season
That's not to say Tracker season 2 wasn't enjoyable, because it was. And that's not to say I don't like cryptids and paranormal and dark storylines – quite the contrary, I love it all. I just don't love it in Tracker, because Tracker was different. The beauty of Tracker season 1 was that it incorporated case-of-the-week storylines that were all so different and inventive. It was the uniqueness of each case that made it so clever, and it was fun to see Colter rely on his wits and survival skills – and maybe a little luck – to find the missing person.
Tracker season 2 lost a lot of that magic for me because, in trying to borrow from everything else, it became like everything else. There are still elements that set it apart from any show on network TV right now, but they're far fewer now, and the cases are more predictable.
But there's still plenty of time to turn it around. Tracker season 3 can have its dark episodes, but I'd give anything for it to be balanced out by including an episode like season 1's "Lexington," where the target was a missing thoroughbred racehorse. That was fun. Let Colter track down a missing zoo animal in the next season of Tracker, or something – just leave the serial killers and mass murder behind.
Source: TV Series Finale
