After That Midseason Finale, ‘Tracker’ Better Not Kill Off This Fan Favorite Character

After That Midseason Finale, ‘Tracker’ Better Not Kill Off This Fan Favorite Character Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw standing outside and looking off to the left in Season 3 of TrackerImage via CBS By  Michael John Petty Published 6 minutes ago Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wife and daughters. At Collider, he writes features and reviews, and has interviewed the cast and crew of Dark Winds. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own. His first work of self-published fiction – The Beast of Bear-tooth Mountain – became a #1 Best Seller in "Religious Fiction Short Stories" on Amazon in 2023. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" from the Western Writers of America in 2025. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Tracker Season 3, Episode 9.

At the end of the most recent Tracker episode "Good Trouble," which doubles as both the first half of a two-part adventure and Season 3's mid-season finale, Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) gets shot in the arm, resulting in a serious car wreck. The crash sends our hero and his ally John Keaton (Brent Sexton) over a cliff to their possible death, with a landing that no one outside of network television would be able to walk away from without some pretty major injuries. In fact, things are so bleak that many are convinced Keaton won't walk away from the wreckage at all — especially after he had just been shot pretty badly. Although Tracker's leading man is certainly safe, his old friend isn't, making us concerned that the CBS drama will kill off one of the best non-series regulars in the show's recurring cast.

'Tracker' Left Us Hanging on Keaton's Ultimate Fate in the Mid-Season Finale

John Keaton (Brent Sexton) on the phone in the 'Tracker' episode "Good Trouble"Image via CBS

It would be one thing if "Good Trouble" just shot Keaton and Colter had to leave him to go get help, or even if Keaton had been injured in a way where he wasn't actively bleeding out (and hadn't nearly died before the rewardist could stabilize him). But considering the urgency of Colter's attempts to keep Keaton awake and alive, the episode adds further insult to the ex-detective's pre-existing injury by tossing him off a literal cliff. The irony isn't lost on us. The episode ends with an infuriating "To Be Continued..." before those credits roll. Admittedly, there isn't much hope for Keaton going into the back half of Season 3, and showrunner Elwood Reid didn’t help much either in his post-mortem with TV Line. "I can say that he was initially dead [in the episode's first draft]," Reid explained after being asked about Keaton’s fate. "Now, whether that remains, I don't know..." That's certainly not a bout of confidence that Brent Sexton will return.

Perhaps what makes this cliffhanger so dang frustrating is that Tracker just got Keaton back after a year-long absence. It was in Season 2's "The Disciple" (which aired back in February 2025) that we last saw Keaton after he and Colter defeated the serial killer known as "The Teacher" (played by The X-Files' most infuriating villain, Nicholas Lea). After being introduced in the one-off "Trust Fall", Keaton returned twice to aid Colter in his decade-long search for Gina Picket (Lina Lecompte), eventually discovering that she died many years earlier. In taking down the Teacher, the two formed a close bond that Tracker has yet to embellish on. "Good Trouble" was a step in that direction, but it would be a shame to lose him so soon after he had just returned. More than that, it would also be quite unsatisfying for fans, such as this author, who have been hoping that he will continue to assist our hero in years to come.

Related 'Tracker' Finally Addressed a Puzzling Plot Hole Justin Hartley's Show Has Been Ignoring for 2 Seasons

The latest Tracker episode pulled no punches on this concept.

Posts By  Michael John Petty

At this point, we're not at all worried about Colter. If Justin Hartley were leaving the show, there would have been some sort of announcement by now, and Tracker would've had to set up someone else to take over. Sure, there have been rumors of a Russell Shaw (Jensen Ackles) spin-off, but that would change the tone and feel of the show so drastically that there's no way the writers would axe Colter and just replace him with Russell. Considering Hartley himself has had such a direct hand in putting Tracker together, that, too, gives us confidence that Colter Shaw is A-okay. But everything's still up in the air for Keaton, and even if he does survive, there's no telling whether he'll be able to help Colter see this Tacoma-based conspiracy through...

Keaton Brings a Lot to Colter's Investigations on 'Tracker'

Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw holding his cell phone while standing with Brent Sexton as Keaton in TrackerImage via CBS

Keaton brings something special to Tracker that no other supporting or recurring character can. What made his partnership with Colter so rich and engaging in Season 2 was his longtime knowledge of law enforcement practices, his lasting connections to that world, and his keen investigative eye that allows him to connect certain dots that Colter previously overlooked. Of course, he has his blind spots too, which is why he brought Colter in to help uncover what his former partner, Nat Dobbs (Dean McKenzie), got himself caught up in. Still, Keaton is the type of character who is invaluable to someone like Colter. Although our hero is generally a "lone wolf," he still employs people like Reenie (Fiona Rene) and Randy (Chris Lee) to help him in areas that he isn't as proficient in. Keaton is another character who fits that bill, and not just for Colter.

In Collider's recent sit-down with Eldwood Reid, the showrunner gave us some additional hope that Keaton may make it out of this alive — if not just because the writers have other things they want to do with him.

We haven’t gotten there yet, but we were trying to put Keaton in the office to be a private investigator with Reenie. Colter said, “Hey, I met this really great cop. He’s retired and he’s got nothing to do.” It was a way to close a loop on that storyline and maybe dangle that possibility of Keaton was to live. That’s the way we backed into that thinking. Keaton is a character that we, since last season, have talked a lot about. I thought those episodes were really intense, with him hunting down the guy that killed Colter’s old girlfriend, so they’ve got this bond that’s there.

We can certainly see the vision here. As Reid notes, Colter and Reenie want to bring Keaton deeper into the fold, if not just in an off-screen capacity, to help the lawyer in some of her more difficult legal cases that Colter can't be bothered to get involved with. "We’re trying to slowly expand the Tracker universe a little bit," Reid adds, and we can certainly see the potential. Although Keaton explains that many of his old connections have run dry in the last year, it appears that Detective Willa Simms (Jes Macallan) may be more understanding now than before. If Keaton's able to make it out of this one alive, he would still be a great asset for the team to have at their beck and call. In the same way that Russell brings a brotherly bond and effortlessly ushers Colter into the world of government conspiracy and armed private contractors, so does Keaton with an almost paternal bond with the rewardist, resulting in a mutual respect and admiration.

'Tracker' Doesn't Return Until March, So We Have a Long Winter To Wonder

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about this classic network television cliffhanger (how many times have we seen this before on various CBS shows?) is that Tracker is not returning until March 1, 2026 after the Winter Olympics. The last thing we'd want is to see this ex-Washington detective so unceremoniously killed off, especially after the show has so intentionally set him up as a possible recurring star. Here’s hoping that the CBS drama pulls through and that Colter can perform some sort of life-saving miracle to ensure Keaton's survival; otherwise, this may be the last we see of Brent Sexton on Tracker — and that would be a crying shame.

Tracker airs Sundays on CBS and is available the next day for streaming on Paramount+.

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Tracker

Like TV-14 Drama Crime Release Date February 11, 2024 Network CBS Showrunner Elwood Reid Writers Ben H. Winters, Hilary Weisman Graham 9 Images Colter in TrackerCBSJensen Ackles as Russell Shaw and Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw in Tracker season 3, episode 1CBS via MovieStillsDBJustin Hartley as Colter Shaw, Jensen Ackles as Russell Shaw, and Fiona Rene as Reenie Greene in Tracker season 3, episode 1CBS via MovieStillsDBEric Graise as Bobby Exley in Tracker©CBS / Courtesy MovieStillsDBAbby McEnany as Velma Bruin in Tracker©CBS / Courtesy MovieStillsDBFiona Rene as Reenie Greene and Eric Graise as Bobby Exley in Tracker©CBS / Courtesy MovieStillsDBBobby Exley's Eric Graise, Reenie Greene's Fiona Rene, and Colter Shaw's Justin Hartley BTS in TrackerMarci T. House with a flashlight in TrackerColter Shaw (Justin Hartley) opening a door with a serious expression in TrackerPhoto by Sergei Bachlakov for CBS, Courtesy Everett CollectionClose

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• Justin Hartley Colter Shaw
• Abby McEnany Velma Bruin

Genres Drama, Crime Creator(s) Ben H. Winters Powered by Expand Collapse

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