Tracker's Returning Original Character Is Season 4's Villain

Published Oct 3, 2026, 12:31 PM EDT Ana Dumaraog is a Writer and Editor at Screen Rant, where she expertly covers Network TV offerings, among other things She has spearheaded the effort to make the site an authority on broadcast shows, initially starting with The Big Bang Theory franchise, NCIS, and One Chicago before taking on the specialization in general. Ana has also covered a wide-spread of topics in the past — from franchises like, the MCU and Star Wars, to classic TV favorites, such as Frasier and MASH. Ana brings clarity and enthusiasm to every story she tackles—whether reporting on new releases or offering deep dives into fan-favorite franchises. Her coverage translates complex entertainment developments into engaging, audience-focused content. When Tracker season 4 returns, it will have a peculiar villain — a fan-favorite original character in the series. Justin Hartley made the transition from playing Jack and Rebecca Pearsons' firstborn in NBC's This Is Us to people's favorite survivalist, Colter Shaw, quite seamlessly. Two years after Tracker debuted to record-breaking numbers, the specialized procedural remains a big ratings draw. When it returns as part of CBS's fall 2026 lineup, however, it will feature several changes. Clearly, the public is drawn to Colter, which allows the show to maintain its popularity. Tracker makes it easy for viewers to root for him, especially when he used to go up against mostly despicable criminals. That was all encapsulated in the season 3 finale, when he and his allies got to the bottom of Ashton’s mysterious death, as they took down DARPA and save all the remaining victims of the program. For Tracker season 4, however, Colter's main conflict is with someone unexpected, making the upcoming cycle more intriguing. Russell Is Tracker Season 4's Villain MovieStillsDB As Colter shipped the surviving victims of the program to a safe place, Russell was originally set on killing McIntyre, the man tied to the DARPA operations, to ensure that there were no more loose ends. Jensen Ackles' character was adamant on finishing the job until he was offered new information about Ashton potentially doing something to his brother when he was younger. Tracker kept the specifics of that unclear at this point, but it was enough for Russell to pivot and skip town without informing Colter. Regardless of what's in that file, this act of betrayal, not to mention keeping the door open for DARPA to continue their operation, effectively makes the older Shaw brother Tracker season 4's villain. Obviously, Russell's actions were motivated by good intentions in the Tracker season 3 finale. However, considering what's at risk doesn't excuse his poor judgment. The mystery about their dad's true nature and death kept the brothers separated for so many years and nearly tore their family apart forever, that he should have known that his option at that time was to let Colter know what McIntyre was trying to do. Now, Glenn Morshower's character can hold the information over his head for as long as he wants and use Russell as his personal mercenary, which was his original offer. Why Tracker Season 4 Is Better Off With Russell (Even If He's Now A Bad Guy) CBS Currently, it's unsure how many times Russell will appear in Tracker season 4. The character has appeared at least once in every season of the procedural, with season 3 giving him his biggest role thus far. Ackles revealed that he's always eager to return in Tracker season 4, and luckily, CBS is able to figure out the scheduling, confirming at least one episode comeback for him. Admittedly, had it not been for the string of changes that the project is undergoing, including the production move from Canada to Los Angeles, as well as the actor's own projects, it would have been easy to predict that Russell would appear, but that isn't the case. To make matters worse, the brothers' reunion in Tracker season 4, episode 5, will likely not resolve the matter, so Russell will have to continue keeping that lie for longer. Hartley himself revealed (via TVInsider) that they are going to shelve the mystery in the meantime in favor of other stories that are more character-focused. This threatens to make this deception worse, especially once it finally comes to the surface, as Colter might find himself more resentful that Russell had the chance to come clean about it but didn't. What’s going to happen here in this season is we’re going to put that sort of away for a little bit. I feel like, and I think we’re all on the same page over here, that’s such a big discovery for Colter. It changes a lot of things. I think it’s a fun fact — We don’t do a lot of this on our show where the audience is ahead of Colter. And I think this is one of those times where we can actually do that, where the audience knows something about Colter and his life that Colter is not aware of. Quite frankly, I think it’ll be the first time that we’ve ever done that. So we’ll see how that plays out. Despite all that, it goes without saying that Tracker season 4 is better off with Russell, in whatever form he comes in. Granted that it would be heartbreaking to see the Shaw brothers being at odds again, especially after they worked so hard to fix their relationship, but the longer they keep them apart, the higher the chance that this becomes a much bigger issue when it finally blows over. It's unclear how much CBS wants to stretch out this narrative, but it's very important that Tracker brings back Russell in season 4. Enjoy ScreenRant's primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check "Network TV" in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series. SIGN UP NOW! Tracker Release Date February 11, 2024 Network CBS