Tracker has gone to some dark places before, but human smuggling may be the darkest storyline yet.

Kicking off Season 4 with Colter single-handedly taking on Russian organized crime is a bold move, immediately raising the stakes and signaling that the series isn’t holding back or messing around. And it’s pushing Colter into even more dangerous territory, forcing us to suspend disbelief a bit. 

At this rate, he needs a full-blown tactical team at the ready, though, as always, Colter proves he’s more than capable on his own. 

His near-perfect aim also remains intact… and we’ll let the show have that one so he can remain the hero we all need each week. The world is bleak, so we need a good guy to root for!

In the Season 4 premiere titled“Safe Harbor,” Colter takes on a case involving a missing father of two, with the man’s son, Charlie, who reaches out after finding his information on Reddit. 

Charlie claims his brother is missing, but Colter quickly catches on to the truth—fearing DCFS would separate him and his sibling, Charlie lied to get help.

Colter agrees to take the case anyway, understandably, as he understands the hardships single parents face. 

He also recognizes the emotional weight Charlie is carrying, as he knows what it’s like to have to step up after losing a parent to be there for your siblings. 

Colter’s investigation leads him to a connection between Shawn and a woman named Stephanie, who works at the port.

Shawn recently purchased a gun to protect her, so it’s obvious they’re wrapped up in something dangerous. 

Things escalate quickly when Randy tracks their last location to a crime scene with a male’s dead body. Thankfully, the victim isn’t Shawn but rather Stephanie’s ex, Brent. 

Still, this is no romantic dispute gone wrong—it runs much deeper.

“Safe Harbor” — Coverage of the CBS Original Series Tracker, scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Derek Phillips as Sean Wooledge, Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, Hiram Murray as Security Guard, Photo: Tyler Golden/CBS ©2026 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Using his charm, Colter secures surveillance footage from a nearby gas station, revealing that both Stephanie and Shawn were taken following the tussle at the house. A partial license plate gives him just enough to track the couple down before it’s too late. 

Shawn gives Colter a brief breakdown of the situation—Stephanie’s ex worked for dangerous people and had been pressuring her to make a container disappear, something she refused to do.

It’s an all-hands-on-deck case, as 

Reenie digs into the ex’s background and discovers he was tied to a federal investigation.

The people Brent was involved with? The Russians. And what were they trafficking in that container? People, not good. 

Even in the face of that danger, Colter doesn’t hesitate, risking everything to save Stephanie—and everyone trapped inside the containers. 

Thankfully, he succeeds, bringing Shawn home safely to his children, who had already lost too much. 

Some of the most compelling Tracker moments come when Colter takes cases that aren’t about the paycheck, this being one of them.

He knew Charlie couldn’t afford it, but he saw himself in him, even praising him for showing good judgment and instinct, doing exactly what he would’ve done. 

Charlie feels like a future Colter 2.0—and without that instinct, the case would have ended very differently, as Colter found Shawn and Stephanie just in time. 

As far as season premieres go, this was a solid hour, smoothly dropping viewers right back into Colter’s world without missing a beat.

Colter remains a lone wolf, for now, while relying on his network for intel, though hopefully that won’t be the case all season—especially with hints that he may be getting a more permanent love interest.

Reenie is also eyeing a new office space, a subtle way of addressing the show’s shift to filming in California instead of British Columbia.

The premiere also sets up a new (or rather, old) connection for Reenie. Maxine reveals that Adam—someone who remembers her from their school days—is interested now that she’s single.

Reenie may not be smitten with Adam just yet, but fans of The Vampire Diaries surely are, as Adam is played by Michael Malarkey (TVD’s Enzo), who is described as “disarmingly handsome,” (again, we know), intelligent, and sophisticated—with just enough of a bad-boy edge. He works as a private investigator for high-end law firms.

Could this finally be the answer to Reenie’s love life? Let’s be honest—her track record hasn’t exactly been great.

Read next: Is Russell Shaw Returning for ‘Tracker’ Season 4? Jensen Ackles Finally Reveals What’s Next

Tracker fans, it’s almost that time again! 

The fourth season of Tracker is upon us, and Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw is in fighting shape in the first look released on CBS today. 

Returning on Sunday, October. 4, 2026, the series doesn’t miss a beat, jumping right into the action as Shaw—and his biceps (they did not take a summer hiatus!)—return to find people and save the day.

“Randy, you got something for me?” Shaw asks his go-to right-hand man, who informs him that there’s a case of a missing single dad “who left home last night and never came back.”

In another scene, a woman asks Shaw to “please find” her daughter, as he promises, “I’ll do everything I can.” And we know he means business, as he’s seen climbing cliffs, dodging boulders thrown his way, and throwing some mean punches. I’d hate to be the guy on the receiving end. 

The promo also gives fans a look at the new scenery following the show’s shake-up, relocating from Vancouver to Los Angeles. You may not be able to tell at first glance, but the tone is warmer and sunnier. Is that a tan we’re seeing?

Hartley previously revealed to The Wrap in May that he didn’t think the background change would be a big deal, as the show’s setting changes weekly as he travels the U.S., taking him wherever his cases are. 

Not much is known about the direction of Tracker Season 4, for now, but the first episode, titled “Safe Harbor,” embraces the L.A. backdrop right off the bat, as the season premiere takes him to “a dangerous criminal operation at the Port of Los Angeles.”

As for what fans can expect, we know Chris Lee is coming back as Randy, with Fiona Rene returning as Reenie. 

And yes, Russell Shaw, played by Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles, has also confirmed his return in a guest-star capacity, which is reassuring considering Russell took a dangerous job to keep his brother safe in the season 3 finale. 

“What he brings to the show is pretty extraordinary. He’s really talented and extremely ugly. It’s really hard to look at,” Hartley quipped during the Televerse 26, adding, “But other than the looks, he has this incredible work ethic and charm and charisma and talent and all of that. Wonderful, and everybody knows that.”

Fans have loved seeing Hartley and Ackles bring the Shaw brothers to life on screen, so whenever Russell returns, we’ll hopefully get insight into what it is he found out about what his father was doing to Colter when he was a child. 

Again, Tracker returns Oct. 4, 2026—watch the promo below:

Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw may be the lead on Tracker, but the best character on the series is his brother, Russell Shaw, played by guest star Jensen Ackles.

With Tracker Season 4 on the horizon, fans are wondering whether Ackles will return this season, and the actor just revealed what he knows about his character’s fate. 

Turns out, they’ve been keeping the Supernatural alum in the dark. And despite the season already in production, Ackles hasn’t gotten the comeback call… at least, not yet.

“I dip in and out of the show, Tracker. Just started its fourth season, so, I’m waiting for the phone call,” he reportedly said during Creation Toronto 2026, according to Robyn Phillips’s YouTube.

Obviously, that’s not a no, and it seems as though Ackles is confident that the phone call will come when it’s time to reconnect with Russell and his storyline. 

Fans may remember that Russell’s absence isn’t going to be too suspicious to Colter, as his brother typically peels off until his presence is needed again. 

And in the Tracker Season 3 finale, Russell learns a shocking secret about something his father, Ashton Shaw, may have done to Colter as a child (apparently, that Colter doesn’t even know about), which stops him from killing the man in charge of the Chrono Stasis project. Instead, he makes a secret deal, accepting a dangerous assignment from the leader to protect his brother, telling Reenie to make sure Colter doesn’t come looking for him. 

Naturally, this buys Russell some time, but ensures that we’ll see him again down the line once he wraps up his mission and returns to help his brother out with whatever case he may need. 

And the fact that a major change is coming to Tracker Season 4 also means that it may be easier for Ackles to guest-star on the series more frequently, as the storyline allows, considering production is moving from Canada to Los Angeles. 

Hartley is still the star of the show, but there’s no denying that the brotherly dynamic elevates the entertainment factor. The stakes are higher when the two of them have to navigate working together.