Tracker season 4 returns on 4 October, but Justin Hartley says Russell's secret deal stays buried
Justin Hartley told TV Insider that Russell’s deal from the season 3 finale stays secret for now, while season 4 digs into the Shaw family’s past.
If you thought Tracker had already wrung all the drama it could out of Colter Shaw’s dysfunctional family, Season 4 is gearing up to prove there’s plenty more skeletons knocking about in that battered Airstream. If you’ve not been keeping tabs (in which case, you’re missing out), the show’s been busy keeping its audience fidgeting with cliffhangers since it first landed two years ago. And after the chaos that was the Season 3 finale, there’s still no sign of the Shaw saga winding down any time soon.
Cliffhangers, Complicated
So, a quick recap: Colter’s brother, Russell (played by Jensen Ackles), managed to get himself leveraged by the same shadowy government lot their father was mixed up with. The catch? They’ve threatened to spill the beans to Colter about his dad’s dodgy dealings unless Russell pitches in on a special job for them. Season 3 left things dangling perfectly — Russell working undercover, Colter unaware, and the entire family history getting muddier by the minute.
Season 4 will see the Shaw brothers cross paths again. But that long-awaited reveal of what exactly Russell is hiding? Well, fans are going to need to be a bit patient. Justin Hartley (Colter himself) confirmed in a chat with TV Insider that the answer isn’t coming just yet. In his own words during the interview:
‘We’re going to put that away for a little bit. What he [Russell] has been up to, he won’t tell me. Well, he kind of can’t, right? I mean, there’s a quid pro quo thing that happened at the end of Season 3, and he’s like, “As long as my brother doesn’t find out about this, I’ll do this thing for you.”’
Not exactly instant gratification. But there’s still plenty else swirling around the Shaw family whether or not we get direct answers to dad’s past.
A Different Track for Tracker
Rather than the usual body count per episode, Season 4 is supposedly cranking up the emotional stakes instead. The main focus this time around: digging even deeper into Colter’s tangled history with his father and the effect it’s had on him and his siblings. Over the previous seasons we’ve only had snippets of what made Aston Shaw such an eccentric doomsday parent—think endless survival drills, secrets on top of secrets, and a giant black hole where the truth about his death should be.
And remember Dory (Melissa Roxburgh), Colter’s other estranged sibling who popped up briefly in Season 2? She’s not been seen since that fleeting Airstream reunion, but her absence is starting to feel significant as the family’s history gets pulled further and further apart. This season looks set to finally connect a few of those missing dots — if not tie them neatly, then at least give us a peek at how the family fits (or doesn’t fit) together these days.
‘Tracker’ returns for Season 4 on 4 October 2026, exclusive to CBS and Paramount+.
Don’t worry though, if you’re only here for the classic Colter chaos — dodgy cases, criminals on the run, bullets whizzing past the windscreen — the teaser trailer for Season 4 promises we aren’t trading all the action for teary monologues. Thirty seconds in, it’s all dangerous roads, high stakes, and Colter doing his best to avoid getting flattened. Which, with his luck, is probably just another Tuesday.
- Justin Hartley returns as Colter Shaw
- Jensen Ackles brings back Russell Shaw
- Melissa Roxburgh as Dory Shaw — missing, but not forgotten