Paramount has discovered success with extra conservative-leaning exhibits in recent times, with essentially the most distinguished instance being “Yellowstone” and its huge universe of spin-offs. After all, if you are going to enterprise into leisure particularly designed for center America, you are inevitably going to supply some kind of survivalist-led collection, which is precisely what we have within the type of “Tracker.”
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The present stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, the titular survivalist who makes a dwelling by monitoring down lacking individuals for each legislation enforcement and on a regular basis residents, amassing the rewards and delivering a wholesome dose of ass-kickery and machismo within the course of. However in contrast to one other itinerant all-American hero, Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher (the most effective on-screen model of the character), Shaw is not a whole lone-wolf, counting on a help staff that features his “man within the chair” Bobby Exley (Eric Graise).
Figuring out of a tech restore retailer in Chicago, Bobby gives Shaw with all of the investigative help he wants and shortly turned a fan-favorite in “Tracker” season 1. On the finish of that inaugural season, the collection bid farewell to Robin Weigert’s Teddi Bruin, certainly one of Shaw’s handler’s who mysteriously left the present for its second season. Then, it appeared Bobby was to endure the identical destiny after he too went lacking from the season mid-way by. Fortunately, it appears Shaw’s man may be very a lot again within the chair. However why did he go lacking for therefore lengthy within the first place, and is Bobby being phased out of “Tracker” totally?
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Bobby left Tracker for private causes
In “Tracker” season 2, episode 10, “Nightingale,” Colter investigates the disappearance of a grandson in a city the place a singer named Angie additionally occurred to have gone lacking. In his quest to uncover the reality, Colter runs afoul of the native sheriff and a biker gang, prompting him to name upon Bobby for some help. However as an alternative of his trusted affiliate, Bobby’s cousin Randy solutions the telephone and tells Colter that Bobby was “coping with some household stuff” and that he “wished to ensure he did not go away you hanging.”
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However “Tracker” very a lot left followers hanging for the subsequent 5 episodes, throughout which period Bobby was nowhere to be seen. In episode 15, Randy revealed that Bobby was attending a pal’s funeral, stating that the pal was “like a brother” however providing no updates as to when the tech professional would return. In the meantime, a mid-season trailer launched again in February had already confirmed that Bobby can be again, and in season 2, episode 16, “The Mercy Seat,” the hacker lastly returned. The episode noticed Reenie (Fiona Rene) speaking on the telephone to Bobby, who’s proven to be again within the tech restore store alongside Randy and says that he is “taking it someday at a time.”
Followers of the present absolutely famous, nonetheless, that the unique clarification Randy gave was completely different to the reason that emerged in episode 15. Initially, Randy stated that Bobby was coping with “household stuff” however then revealed that he was attending a pal’s funeral. As such, followers puzzled whether or not the present’s writers had initially scrambled for an evidence, solely to vary it because the season went on. This could recommend there have been some behind-the-scenes points at play, which in flip casts doubt on whether or not Eric Graise himself was withdrawing from “Tracker.” Fortunately, although, evidently Bobby will stay a fixture of the collection in the meanwhile.
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Is Bobby again in Tracker for good?
In March of 2025, Reenie actor Fiona Rene spoke to TV Insider about “Tracker” and supplied a glimpse at the way forward for the collection when she praised Chris Lee’s efficiency as Randy, saying, “Can we simply speak about Randy for a second? I like Chris Lee with the whole lot in my physique. He is been such an exquisite addition to the Bobby dynamic, and I’m very excited to see them collectively.” So far as Rene is anxious, then, there’s loads of Bobby and Randy to return, suggesting Eric Graise’s character will stay on the present for the foreseeable future.
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Within the meantime, questions stay about why Bobby was absent for a number of episodes. Was it only a approach for the writers to correctly introduce Randy, giving the viewers an opportunity to get to know the character on his personal earlier than establishing the dynamic between him and Bobby? Maybe. Nevertheless it may be the case that the writers have been organising a forthcoming storyline, whereby Bobby doubtlessly asks Colter for assist in fixing the loss of life of his pal, to whom he was clearly very shut. Why else would the writers change the reason for Bobby’s absence until they’d developed the backstory behind-the-scenes?
A a lot much less fascinating however equally believable clarification for Bobby’s prolonged absence may very well be that CBS was merely attempting to economize. Again in Might 2024, Deadline reported that the community had lowered the minimal assured episodes for a number of collection regulars on its exhibits “FBI” and “FBI: Most Needed.” It was a cost-cutting train that sounded similar to the methods through which sure “Gray’s Anatomy” forged members additionally had their assured episodes lower.
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Regardless of the case, we at the least know that Bobby is again in “Tracker.” And regardless of not being a part of the sprawling Taylor Sheridan TV empire, the present has already been renewed for season 3, and it would not appear to be Bobby will likely be going lacking once more anytime quickly.
