Newest CBS Procedural is a Must-Watch for Elementary Fans

Summary

• CBS has aired a pilot for its new crime action series, Tracker, starring Justin Hartley.
• The show did not appeal to all viewers, but that may have been due to overblown expectations after the Super Bowl.
• Regardless, Tracker turned out to be a solid project in the vein of CBS' classic procedurals.

Fans of procedural dramas are never short of content, as television is willing to provide shows in this genre on a regular basis. And CBS in particular has an endless supply of procedurals: there is the never-ending NCIS, the relatively new crime drama The Equalizer, the iconic (and sadly ending) Blue Bloods, and the final episodes of S.W.A.T. are yet to come. In traditional American broadcasting, only NBC competes with CBS, keeping itself afloat thanks to Dick Wolfe's projects.

But what no one expected from CBS was such a high level of self-confidence. On Sunday, February 11, immediately following the broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII, the network launched the pilot episode of its new crime series, Tracker. While high-profile post-event premieres are nothing new to television, few dare to try to keep the hype going in the immediate aftermath. Did the new series live up to this hype? Well, yes and no. Was it worthy of such a high-profile debut? Probably a lot more than we could have expected based on the commercials!

A New Series with Justin Hartley

CBS has only aired a pilot of Tracker, which was released right after the 58th Super Bowl, but it's enough to give you an impression of the series. Of course, the essence of the project can only be fully revealed with the upcoming episodes, but the story, spiced with some pretty impressive acting, already makes us look forward to the follow-up.

Based on Jeffery Deaver's The Never Game, Tracker follows a lone survivalist named Colter Shaw, played by the incomparable Justin Hartley, best known for his role as Oliver Queen on Smallville and more recently on NBC's This Is Us as Kevin Pearson. It's also not Hartley's first project on CBS, as he was involved in one of the few non-procedural television series, the soap opera The Young and the Restless, from 2014 to 2016.

But back to Tracker. The title character travels across the United States in his old Airstream RV, rescuing ordinary people and helping the law with investigations thanks to his honed tracking skills. But Shaw is no selfless folk hero: he does not ask for a small financial reward for the work he does for a living. He is assisted by his personal fixers, married couple Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma (Abby McEnany) Bruin, who add a nice semi-comedic element to the story thanks to their excellent chemistry.

A CBS Flagship or a Mediocre Action Show?

So far, the critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes is 82%, while the audience score is lower at 54%. Why such a difference in opinion? Possibly because premiering right after the Super Bowl proved to be an overly ambitious decision by CBS — Tracker is above average in quality, but for some it seemed insufficient to occupy such an important time slot.

Nevertheless, Tracker is a solid action drama in the spirit of classic CBS procedurals, especially reminiscent of Elementary and The Equalizer. It centers around a quirky character who gets into equally quirky situations, but doesn't turn into a corny action hero. Hartley isn't afraid to show his character vulnerable and traumatized, which makes the audience incredibly invested in what's happening.

The next episode of Tracker, titled Missoula, will air this Sunday, February 18 at 9:00 pm ET on CBS. As with the previous episode, the director is Ken Olin, who has worked with Colter Shaw on This Is Us. So it looks like we're in for a really exciting show from people who have a way with each other and know how to present a decent and thrilling story.