Spoilers ahead for Part 1 of the Tracker Season 3 premiere, “The Process,” streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription.
Tracker finally premiered its third season on Sunday on the 2025 TV schedule, and it was as intense as ever. Following the events of the Season 2 finale, which saw Colter (Justin Hartley) finding out that his mother was more or less responsible for the death of his father, Ashton, the trauma still hasn’t subsided. Big brother Russell (Jensen Ackles) reconnected with his sib, and the two tried to help find a missing mother and her daughter while also dealing with what really happened to their dad. Not the most traditional form of coping.
The first part of the two-part Season 3 premiere gave audiences an emotional reunion after Russell finally tracked Colter down, and it’s the first time they’ve really spoken since the secret about their parents was revealed. But it’s not all great, as Russell shared he’s actually been in contact with their mom, though it’s not in the way fans may think. Showrunner Elwood Reid told TVLine that while Russell did briefly have contact with her, he has a different perspective about the whole situation than his brother:
I think the short answer is no — not really. Maybe a ‘Hey, I’m in Canada’-type check-in, but nothing deeper. Russell has a different understanding of what went on in that family before Ashton’s death, and that comes out in their conversation. He was the older brother, the protector, and he saw things Colter didn’t. But his mom lied to him, too.
For a long time, Colter believed that Russell was responsible for the death of their father, and it’s taken them a while for them to get back to normal over these first two seasons. But once Russell shared that someone else was on that cliff with Ashton that night, Colter wanted to dig deeper, and when he finally found out the truth, it was not easy.
Now that both brothers know the truth, and it was as shocking as ever, it’s not going to be easy going back to normal for the entire family. Of course, Mary’s lie won’t go away just like that, and it will continue throughout the season as Colter, Russell, and probably Dory (Melissa Roxburgh) work through what truly happened to their dad and strive to get more answers:
This season is about airing out that poison — the lies that infected the whole family, especially their relationship with Mary. We’ll eventually get a scene with Mom that gives more context, but right now, both brothers are still trying to figure out how much of her story they can actually believe.
Since Tracker’s premiere, it’s been clear that the Shaw family is pretty complicated, but it’s now more complicated than ever. It’s unknown what exactly will happen as the two-part premiere continues next week, but Jensen Ackles will be appearing in multiple episodes of Season 3, and fans can likely expect more of their family history and drama to be aired out. Whether or not Roxburgh will be joining them is unknown, but it’s possible.
Fans will just have to wait and see how the secret continues to tear the Shaw family apart or keep some of them together when new episodes of Tracker air on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. There will be a lot more to look forward to, and no telling what will go down.