Justin Hartley's Tracker Wins Big: What Makes the Show So Popular And What Fans Are Saying About Its Direction

For Justin Hartley, getting to work with his wife Sofia Pernas on his CBS hit series Tracker just makes the whole experience even better. He told USA Today that he enjoys being around her and is having the time of his life with the show. To be able to share it with the people you love makes it even better. I think many of us can relate to that feeling.

Hartley was asked about his character Colter reuniting with Pernas' Billie. He said he would not call it a true love story. However, he noted there is a romantic spark and good feeling between the two. This fictional pair is set to face off again in a coming episode of Tracker. Based on Jeffery Deaver's novel The Never Game, Tracker follows a survivalist named Colter who travels the country helping to solve all sorts of mysteries.

Hartley does not just star in the show. He also works as an executive producer. This allowed him to surprise viewers with exciting guest stars. Pernas herself, Jensen Ackles, Melissa Roxburgh, and Jennifer Morrison are some of the names who have appeared. Hartley joked that he got Pernas on the show simply because he lives with her. It was not even a phone call, he quipped. He added that it is great when you can work with people you love. He called her a light and praised the show's great guest stars.

Working With His Wife Sofia Pernas Brings More Joy To Justin Hartley's Time On Tracker

How Their On-Screen Chemistry Adds Another Layer To The Popular CBS Drama

Justin Hartley and Sofia Pernas first worked together on The Young and The Restless back in 2015. Years later, they reconnected offscreen and got married in 2021. Besides Tracker, they also worked together on the short-lived Quantum Leap reboot. Hartley spoke about his wife saying if he had his choice, he would spend every minute with her. He finds it very cool when you meet someone who means so much to you. He is proud to be with her and is a big fan of her work. He noted that she is such a good actor. She makes scenes better and makes his job easier. It sounds like a perfect working and personal relationship.

The actor also shared that involving Pernas with Tracker was always their plan. He thought it would be a really cool idea from the start. He explained to Deadline that in the second episode, there was a line where one of the ladies said "Word on the street is that Billie is circling the case." Colter then rolled his eyes. Hartley said that if you are really paying attention, you would realize "Oh, he’s got a rival, this guy Billie." This kind of planning shows how much thought goes into the show's development. It is nice to see these little details for viewers who are truly paying attention.

Tracker's Massive Success: Beating Out Competition And Setting New Records For Viewership

How Justin Hartley's Show Achieved Viewership Numbers Only Seen Before With Yellowstone

As we are almost halfway through the 2025 TV schedule, the numbers are in for the most-watched shows from the 2024-2025 season. While the top program on the list is not a big surprise, Justin Hartley's CBS drama Tracker pulled off a win that only one other TV drama, Yellowstone, has managed in recent years. It is a big deal to reach such heights in today's crowded TV landscape. I find it really impressive for a relatively new show.

As expected, both NFL and NCAA football have a strong presence in the overall totals. CBS clearly outpaced the competition when it came to programming, boasting 14 of TV's top 20 non-sports audiences. This information comes from TVLine. Let us take a closer look at how Tracker's second season beat the odds and topped its already good first year. I think it is a true testament to the show's appeal and Justin Hartley's star power.

Let us be clear: Tracker's first season was a huge success for CBS. Viewers showed up in big numbers to see Justin Hartley's first major TV role after This Is Us. Season 1's average viewership of 10.84 million made it the top drama of the 2023-2024 season. However, it came in third place behind ABC's Monday Night Football. But things have changed, at least for one year. Tracker's second season averaged a total of 11 million viewers per episode. This number includes delayed viewing up to seven days later. It is no wonder CBS gave it an early renewal for season 3 along with other shows. Monday Night Football fell to the third spot with 10.3 million viewers on average. Sorry, football fans. That is a rare occurrence.

It is already rare for any show to beat either primetime NFL games or NCIS in total viewers. It is even rarer for a drama to beat both. Yellowstone did it during the 2022-2023 season. It was the first cable series to pull off that kind of win since The Walking Dead's huge run on AMC. Before that, back in 2017-2018, another drama reached the second spot: This Is Us. That show also starred Justin Hartley. If he had been on Yellowstone at some point, he might be seen as the ultimate TV ratings winner. Usually, NCIS is the top scripted drama. There were times when The Big Bang Theory and even the return of Roseanne pulled in bigger crowds. But McGee and his team tend to hold the lead for hour-long shows.

Fans And Critics Discuss Tracker's Darker Tone And What Season 3 Might Bring

Examining The Shift In Storytelling And The Show's Future Direction

Even though I usually like dark and heavy storylines, I have to admit that Tracker season 3 might need to tone it down. Season 2 wrapped up a few weeks ago. We got more answers about the death of Colter's father Ashton Shaw. Yet, the season 2 finale also brought up more questions. New characters brought new storylines. Season 2 introduced Chris Lee's character Randy. He seems set to be a permanent part of the cast as Bobby's cousin and hacker partner. I think this will please audiences, given how well he was received. A show's second season is always a challenge. It needs to prove that its first season's big success was not just a one-time thing. To that end, Tracker season 3 was already given the green light months ago. This shows how strong its ratings have been. But while there were good parts this season, fans and I had some criticisms for creative choices that did not quite work.

Season 2 of Tracker was much darker and more gruesome than the first season. Very few episodes last season involved murder. Season 2 had an incredibly high number of deaths. Serial killers appeared in multiple episodes, including "Monster." That episode included a bloody, headless body and a severed head. Cults and strange religious groups were common. One episode involved a government plot where Colter found the bodies of five agents who had been killed. Colter also did a lot more killing in season 2. It was disappointing to see so many of his cases solved with a gun instead of his cleverness. I am not sure why these changes were made. Judging by this season's ratings, it might have been a mistake. According to TV Series Finale, Tracker season 2 averaged a .49 rating in the 18-49 age group. This is a drop of over 34% from season 1's .74 rating. Average viewership was 7.999 million, down from season 1's 8.29 million average. The show is still a huge success for CBS. It is not in danger of suddenly falling off a cliff. Still, those numbers are telling. I believe it is due to the big shift in tone and focus in the second season.

I would say that Tracker season 2 tried to borrow from other popular shows and trends. There is a clear influence from Supernatural already. Colter drives around the country helping people. There is also the connection with Jensen Ackles playing Russell Shaw. This season felt like it took a little bit of its style from The X-Files as well. It was also influenced by the growing interest in cryptids, aliens, and old stories on the internet. Even the big success of Reacher, which Tracker has been compared to, might explain the increased violence this season. That is not to say Tracker season 2 was not fun to watch. It was. And I like cryptids, paranormal stories, and dark plots. But I just do not love it in Tracker. Tracker was different. Season 1's beauty was its unique case-of-the-week stories. Each case was inventive and clever. It was fun to see Colter use his wits and survival skills to find the missing person. Tracker season 2 lost a lot of that magic for me because it tried to be like everything else. It became like everything else. There are still things that set it apart. But they are much fewer now. The cases are more predictable. But there is still plenty of time to fix it. Tracker season 3 can have its dark episodes. But I would love for it to be balanced out. I would like to see an episode like season 1's "Lexington," where the target was a missing racehorse. That was fun. I think Colter should track down a missing zoo animal in the next season of Tracker. Just leave the serial killers and mass murder behind.