The first season of Trackers was a huge success, and the show has been renewed for a highly anticipated second season.
According to CBS, “Chasers” is the most-watched new series since the 2004-05 season of “Desperate Housewives.”
Now that Colt Shaw and his Airstream team are gearing up for their second round of adventures, it’s as good a time as any to suggest that the series change its well-oiled formula before it goes into trouble.
The first season of Trackers was an immediate and huge success, coming as a surprise to its network and fans.
This success was built on many time-tested TV tropes, even before anyone had the bright idea to feature Justin Hartley No font Shirts from a few episodes (but not enough!).
CBS has a solid reputation for traditional, long-running programming (despite its recent decision to cancel the beloved Blue Bloods ).
“Tracker” seems to fit right in with the network’s reliance on tried-and-true programming, while adding Hartley’s “new” star power and Ken Olin’s proven directorial ability.
Its premise is that a skilled do-gooder travels around the country helping a new set of characters every week, potentially continuing the same way forever.
After all, why mess with a formula that makes legions of fans and TV executives happy?
While many fans may have wanted to see what this new Tracker show would be like from the get-go, there isn’t that element of surprise this time around.
But other than that, it’s a great time to make a good show great. Now, with unexpected ratings and critical acclaim, Tracker is the perfect time to do just that.
Ambiguity is opportunity
Curt’s family mythology (survivalist father, parricide brother, escapist mother) was sketched out early in the first season.
Still, Colter’s tracking skills and knack for understanding the relative odds of survival in various situations carried him throughout the first half of the season.
Curt is intentionally a blank slate, and his work history has been vague, even when people from his past like Billie Matalon (Sofia Pernas) pop up to help him find racehorses.
Even with his closest collaborators, we know nothing about it. Teddy and Velma are delightful as his handlers, but who exactly are they? How did they meet Colter? Why does he seem to trust them but not others?
The same goes for tech wizard Bobby, although the more transactional nature of their relationship may be clearer. But even hot-shot attorney Renee Green had some unspecified fling with Colter, more of which we may never learn.
Then again, do we really need to know more about him for this type of show?
Colter’s natural reticence suited his lifestyle well. The more mysterious you are, the easier it will be to leave strangers close to you while helping them escape dangerous situations.
But how much will that do for viewers, who might start wanting more from their titular hero than this week’s case?
View examples
As far as series revamps go, The Love Boat is probably the ultimate example of a one-and-done TV show premise, while Lost’s storylines are almost constantly changing, and there’s a middle ground between the two.
Some great shows start off strong but only achieve true greatness when they completely subvert their premise after the first season.
(There may be spoilers ahead!)
The Walking Dead reinvigorated the zombie show genre in a way that was astonishing for its time.
It uses a surreal undead horde, the banal landscape of suburban Atlanta, and relatable human characters to create a truly terrifying masterpiece of modern television.
Aside from survival, the characters’ main goal in season one is to reach the CDC in Atlanta, their only real chance of escaping this zombie nightmare.
They did it! They enjoyed air conditioning, video games and hot showers for about a day and a half.
And then… the entire CDC building is blown up, and the premise of the show is reset. Oh, there are zombies everywhere, but they now need a new survival plan.
This subversion of our expectations lets us know that the series can go in any direction at any time, and that’s exciting. The Walking Dead ran for eleven seasons and had seven spin-offs.
“Two Spies” was more popular with critics than audiences during its first two seasons, but it remained popular and attracted unique guest stars (Quentin Tarantino, Rutger Hauer ).
The show’s original premise had Sidney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) attending graduate school while working as a spy for what she believed was the CIA. It takes the form of weekly cases and may continue indefinitely.
Instead, Alias reset the entire series by blowing up the spy agency and its accompanying storylines in the middle of its second season. The show ran for three more seasons and became known for its originality.
Explosions aren’t the only way to bring about change on the show.
The good place’s afterlife is candy-colored, with some new residents questioning whether they really should be there but not wanting to admit it and be sent to the bad place.
In the Season 1 finale, the characters (and us!) discover they’ve been in the Bad Place all along!
The show was so beloved that it ran for four seasons.
All of these shows benefited from change and became trailblazers that influenced many now-familiar television trends.
Tracker’s ending leaves opportunity for change
Curt’s family mythology is reinvented in the final three episodes of season one.
He reconnects with his sister Dolly, works cases with his estranged brother Russell, and learns a secret about his father from an old friend.
The government conspiracy theory angle with his father is somewhat interesting, but unless the conspiracy involves actual zombies, I’d say it’s not compelling enough to continue into a second season.
If the show sticks to its status quo, will the focus on Colt’s previous robberies and partners (even the charming Billie) be enough to keep it going for a second season?
Although I will like Seeing the series retitled “The Tracker and His Brother Russell,” Colt went into business with him, and even Rainey wouldn’t work for either of them for long.
But hopefully Jensen Ackles will appear in every episode of Season 2 in some other way.
The ending hints that Dory might be hiding something from Curt, which is even less interesting than their father’s government conspiracy.
It’s unfair that Dory is saddled with the role of the scolding, responsible sister while Russell becomes the scoundrel’s scoundrel, but it still doesn’t make me want to follow her storyline in season two.
Speaking of Russell, he mocks Colter for not having an “exit strategy” for his road life Very Interesting.
Either Colt really doesn’t have an exit strategy, or he distrusts his brother too much to share.
Colt is the typical middle child, responsible for keeping the peace. He may project his need to “keep the peace” onto the strangers he helps because this role is all he knows.
The big “why” explaining Colt’s nomadic life hasn’t happened yet, which could be the perfect bait-and-switch to “blow up” the status quo and take the series in a whole new direction.
The final shot of season 1 is of Colt on the beach running towards the water to surf. It would be very bold if Season 2 gave us open water instead of the open road.
The tracker can flip from constant motion to a static setting, or change in a variety of other ways.
It will be exciting to see this already entertaining show get even better.
TV fans, what do you say?
Should “Stalkers” stay the same, or get a complete revamp for season 2?
Check out the comments and let us know!
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