Jensen Ackles is coming back to Tracker a lot sooner than you think. The longtime Supernatural star joined the cast of Tracker near the end of Season 1, guest starring as Russell Shaw, the estranged brother of Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw. Ackles said that he would be coming back for more episodes in Season 2, but many fans expected it would be later in the season, given how long it took him to show up in Season 1. That won’t actually be the case, as Ackles is coming back to Tracker in the first couple weeks of the new season.
This week, CBS revealed the first photos from Ackles return to Tracker, which will take place in the second episode of Season 2. “Ontological Shock” will air in just over a week’s time, on October 20th, meaning that the wait for Russell Shaw’s next episode is not going to be very long.
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In the episode, Colter actually goes missing, prompting Reenie (Fiona Rene) to call Russell to try and track him down. The first photos from “Ontological Shock” show Russell coming back in his beloved Impala (not too different from Dean Winchester’s iconic ride in Supernatural), and reuniting with his younger brother yet again.
Very little other details have been revealed for “Ontological Shock,” or any of Tracker Season 2 for that matter. The show will likely continue following the procedural format of Season 1, with Colter taking on new reward cases in each episode. Like the Jeffery Deaver novels that the series is based on, the major continuous story throughout all of the cases revolved around the death of Colter’s father, Ashton. For years, Colter believed that Russell was their dad’s killer, but the elder Shaw brother has since cleared his name.
Colter and Russell reunited in the 12th episode of Tracker’s first season, but it took the characters a lot longer to cross paths in Deaver’s books. It isn’t until the third book in the series, The Final Twist, that Colter actually links up with his long-lost brother and begins to try patching up their relationship.
Fans of Tracker will certainly be happy to know that the series is more eager to get Russell back on camera. Ackles’ last Tracker outing is the most beloved episode of the first season in the eyes of many viewers, and everyone has been wondering exactly when he’d be back for round two. With the return taking place so early in the season, it does seem as though there might be more opportunities for Russell to pop up as the season progresses.
It also looks like Tracker is getting all of its biggest Season 1 guest stars lined up for returns early in Season 2. Hartley’s real-life wife, Sofia Pernas, portrayed love interest and fellow reward seeker Billie Matalon in the sixth episode of Tracker Season 1. Pernas has already been confirmed to return in the third episode of Season 2, just one week after Ackles comes back.
There’s quite a lot to look forward to in the early weeks of Tracker Season 2.