It was midway through Season 1 of the Justin Hartley procedural that the show introduced Blood & Treasure vet (and Hartley’s real-life spouse) Sofia Pernas as fellow reward seeker Billie Matalon . Six weeks later, Supernatural’ s Jensen Ackles made his debut as Colter’s brother Russell , an Army vet who works cases as a civilian contractor for a shadowy organization called The Horizon Group. Either guest star would seem well-suited to lead a second show set in the Tracker Televisual Universe, but showrunner Elwood Reid isn’t convinced that an offshoot would be in the show’s best interest.
Sofia Pernas & Justin Hartley in Tracker Season 1, Episode 6 Courtesy of CBS
“It’s so funny because all my friends are like, ‘You’ve got to start thinking about spinning it off,'” the EP tells TVLine. And yet, he keeps coming back to the same argument: “Second seasons are very hard. I’ve seen this with shows, where they spin them off too early, then both shows suffer.
“The show is so singular with Justin [at its center] that it’s really important we keep expanding the world, expanding the cases and [expanding] what Tracker can do,” Reid argues. “Unlike a lot of shows — unlike a cop show in New York or Chicago, where they’re always dealing with a homicide — I can go into any world. I can go into stock car racing, I can go into Nashville, I can go into any world I want.”
Justin Hartley & Jensen Ackles in Tracker Season 1, Episode 12 Courtesy of CBS
Fellow executive producer Ken Olin concurs, adding: “Elwood and I, we’re pretty satisfied, too, by doing this [one show]. It’s a weird show to spin-off. But also, like, things don’t break through easily anymore…. I mean, look, Dick Wolf has been very successful and all that, but those [shows] are also how old now?”
Reid acknowledges that “if it made sense and seemed obvious to us,” they would pursue a second show. For now, though, building out the existing show is “where we’re going to spend out energy. And if we’re so lucky enough” to find another character “to spin it out for franchising, then Ken and I will be the first in line.”
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