It’s official: Tracker returns to CBS
CBS has firmed up Tracker’s fourth-season return in its autumn slate reveal, with a Sunday reshuffle that now has it following a different lead-in.
Right, so CBS has taken a look at its Sunday nights, fiddled about with the line-up for a bit, and now they've decided to make things official for autumn. Basically, what they tried out last season – shuffling shows around and axing one that wasn't working – is now how things are staying. If you've been following Tracker and Marshals, here's what's actually happening, and why it's not quite the snub it might look like on paper.
The new running order
For the past three years, Tracker got the 8pm Sunday lead-off: that's Justin Hartley doing his lone-wolf bounty hunter act, finding missing people for cash and personal closure. But this past spring, Marshals – CBS's Yellowstone spin-off, for those still counting new Taylor Sheridan universes – turned up and nabbed that 8pm slot for itself, pushing Tracker to 9pm on the schedule.
Tracker Season 4 comes back two weeks earlier than last year's opener, at 9:30pm (Eastern) on Sunday, 4th October, with Marshals Season 2 before it at 8:30, after the NFL early game. Both dramas move to their usual hours (Marshals at 8, Tracker at 9) from 11th October, right in the thick of Premiere Week.
The 10pm hour, in case you had designs on catching something new, is all just encore airings now, thanks to the cancellation of Watson. So, realistically, CBS is leaning on Marshals and Tracker to prop up the whole night, then padding things out with reruns. Can't argue with the numbers, apparently.
Are they punishing Tracker?
This is where things get a bit more interesting (if you care about network logic). Is this a slap on the wrist for Tracker, or just the math doing what the math does? Sure, Tracker's been booted from 8pm, but not because it's falling apart. In fact, by Nielsen's 35-day multiplatform tally for 2025-26, Tracker pulled in 16.4 million viewers, which is seventh overall across all US telly. Marshals, on the other hand, clocked 20.7 million and ranked third. CBS cares about audience size, not your thoughts on whether Yellowstone should have ended already.
Critically, they're polar opposites. Tracker's packing an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score, while Marshals is sitting on a rather painful 48%. Highbrow? Not so much. Popular? Absolutely.
Behind the scenes: new location, old friends
This fourth run of Tracker actually kicks off with a notable production shift: they've left behind Vancouver (which spent three years awkwardly pretending to be every state in America) and are now filming in Los Angeles, thanks to a tidy $48 million tax credit from California. So expect some fresher scenery for Colter's road-tripping this time.
- Justin Hartley (Colter Shaw) is back, obviously.
- Fiona Rene (Reenie Greene) returns as well.
- Chris Lee and Cassady McClincy Zhang are back in Reenie's office, even as a couple of previous regulars (Bobby and Velma) have left.
No word yet on exactly how many episodes we're getting – Season 3 ran for 22, if that's any guide – but CBS is keeping that under wraps.
The cliffhanger from last season involves Jensen Ackles' Russell, who legged it with some juicy information about Colter's dad. Is Ackles coming back? He said recently he is 'waiting for the phone call' regarding Season 4. So, watch this space. Or, don't, if you just want to be surprised when he turns up bald halfway through the season.