CBS’s answer to ‘Reacher’ is already a huge hit.
The Big Picture
- The CBS series
Tracker
is based on Jeffery Deaver’s Colter Shaw book series, starting with
The Never Game
. - While
Tracker
follows an episodic procedural format like other CBS shows, it incorporates elements from Deaver’s novels. - Jeffery Deaver’s previous works, such as
The Bone Collector
, have been successfully adapted for film and television.
With the February release of the new CBS series Tracker, Justin Hartley has moved on from his previous work on the hit drama This Is Us and has found something more akin to his previous work on Smallville. While Hartley isn’t playing a superhero this time around, his latest character, Colter Shaw, acts almost as if he is one. The titular tracker is a reward-seeker (though he prefers the term “rewardist”) with a penchant for finding what people are looking for. The only thing he can’t seem to find is what he is looking for. But while we eagerly await Jensen Ackles‘ return as Colter’s brother, there’s something else we need to address: Is Tracker based on a book?
Tracker
Colter Shaw travels the country in his old-school RV to help police and private citizens solve crimes and locate missing persons until his latest case changes everything.
- Release Date
- February 11, 2024
- Creator
- Ben H. Winters
- Cast
- Justin Hartley , Lee Tergesen , Oscar Chark , Eric Graise , Fiona Rene , Wendy Crewson
- Seasons
- 2
CBS’s ‘Tracker’ Is Based on Jeffery Deaver’s Thriller
Almost everything that gets greenlit in Hollywood these days is based on some already pre-existing material, and Tracker is no different. Though this CBS drama has the look and feel of a completely original concept, Tracker is actually based on the Colter Shaw series of novels by Jeffery Deaver, though only the first novel in the series, The Never Game, is credited. In fact, when Justin Hartley’s latest television project was first announced, the original title was The Never Game. But, likely after the success of similar one-word title shows like Reacher or Walker, CBS opted to retool their series to fit the current trend of “er”-themed action shows. Tracker certainly fits the bill.
The original Jeffery Deaver novel follows Colter Shaw as he arrives in Silicon Valley to find a missing girl named Sophie, who he believes is likely already dead. But as he hunts for Sophie, another victim is taken, an LGBT activist named Henry Thompson. It turns out, there’s actually a third victim too, and with this seemingly never-ending cycle of kidnappings, Colter is possibly in over his head. We won’t spoil the ending of The Never Game here, especially if it fits into the Tracker narrative down the road, but let’s just say that this action-packed suspense thriller is the perfect starting point for fans of the Colter Shaw character.
Colter Goes Off Shore in ‘Tracker’ Season 1 Finale Trailer
‘Once Upon a Time’s Jennifer Morrison makes a guest appearance in the Season 1 finale.
Justin Hartley, who also serves as an executive producer on the series, is thrilled to be a part of it. “I’ve never seen a show like this, but I read the book,” he revealed to IGN ahead of the show’s premiere. “[Executive Producer] Ken Olin gave me [The Never Game], and we looked at each other and said, ‘We have to do this. We have to figure this out.’ It’s an actor’s dream really to play a unique character.” It’s no wonder he was cast as Colter Shaw, because he effortlessly steals every scene he’s in.
‘Tracker’ Has the Standard TV Procedural Formula
But how closely does Tracker follow the original Jeffery Deaver book series? Well, unlike Reacher, which adapts a Lee Child novel every season, Tracker has taken a different approach. Though the overarching mythology behind the series has been lifted from Deaver’s original novels (particularly the stories concerning the Shaw family and Colter’s upbringing), the overall tone of the series is very much that of your standard CBS procedural — but that might not be a bad thing. By giving Colter a different assignment every week, the series has the opportunity to explore a plethora of different environments, groups, and types of mysteries that will put Tracker up there with all your other favorite case-of-the-week shows.
Of course, just because Tracker isn’t directly adapting The Never Game doesn’t mean that the Colter Shaw books won’t factor into the plot in the future.
“Character-wise, there are a lot of similarities,” Hartley noted about
Tracker
‘s commitment to
The Never Game
and its sequels. “Story-wise, we have our own stories going on. We have sort of a case of the week kind of thing, and then laced in there are a bunch of clues as to what might’ve happened to Colter’s family. He’s trying to sort through that and figure out who might’ve been involved. Maybe family was involved. Maybe the dad wasn’t crazy, maybe he was onto something.”
However, that ends up playing out on screen, it’ll no doubt be inspired by Jeffery Deaver’s plot from the original novels. Speaking of the books, thus far, Deaver has published three other novels in addition to The Never Game. The Goodbye Man, The Final Twist, and Hunting Time all continue Colter’s literary journey past his 2019 debut, with a handful of companion short stories set within that same world. It’s unclear if Hartley, Olin, and series creator Ben H. Winters plan on ever diving into the books for more case inspiration, but whether they do or not, Tracker is aiming to be an enjoyable weekly adventure.
‘Tracker’ Isn’t the First Jeffery Deaver Adaptation
If Jeffery Deaver sounds familiar to you, it may be because you’ve seen his work on the screen before. Well, you’ve seen it adapted to the screen before. Deaver himself is a prolific author with an impressive catalog of novels and short stories under his belt, but in addition to The Never Game inspiring the CBS series Tracker, Deaver’s work has been the basis for a handful of other film and television projects. The most famous of these might be the Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie film, The Bone Collector, which was adapted from Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme novel of the same name. In fact, The Bone Collector was adapted again in 2020 for the short-lived NBC series Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, which starred Russell Hornsby (who had previously worked with Denzel Washington on Fences) in the titular role.
In addition to The Bone Collector, Deaver’s A Maiden’s Grave was the basis for the HBO film Dead Silence, which starred James Garner as FBI Special Agent John Potter. In 2010, The Devil’s Teardrop was also adapted into a made-for-TV feature for Lifetime. While The Bone Collector might be among Deaver’s most notable works due to the popular film adaptation, there’s no denying that Colter Shaw is one of his greatest protagonists. And who knows, maybe one day Jeffrey Deaver’s most recent hero will become a household name. The Super Bowl sure helped the series to kick off with an impressive 18 million viewers, and here’s hoping most of them stick around.
Tracker airs on Thursdays on CBS and can be streamed exclusively on Paramount+.
This article was originally published on collider.com