Jensen Ackles and Chris Lee Finally Meet on Justin Hartley’s Tracker Following Cast Departures
Justin Hartley‘s Tracker has managed to facilitate interaction between Jensen Ackles‘s Russell and Chris Lee‘s Randy, even after several cast members exited the show.
In an exclusive clip from Us Weekly for the upcoming episode on Sunday, October 26, Randy meets Colter (Hartley) and Russell at a diner, exclaiming, “You must be Russell. The legend is real.”
Russell shares a similarly enthusiastic response to finally meeting Randy. Before diving into business matters, Randy orders breakfast, specifically requesting “exactly what” Russell has on his plate, “plus an extra side of bacon, biscuits and gravy, and a cinnamon roll.”
When Colter humorously inquires if Randy “ordered enough food,” Randy quips back, “I am stress-eating, man, with all this work I am doing for you.”
Randy then shares crucial intel regarding their latest task. “We gotta find out who is behind this game and put an end to it,” Colter remarks in a sneak peek from the two-part season 3 premiere.
The interactions between Colter, Russell, and Randy have been rare on Tracker, which primarily follows Hartley’s character as he meets new people and solves fresh cases while receiving assistance from handlers Teddi (Robin Weigert) and Velma (Abby McEnany), hacker Bobby (Eric Graise), and attorney Reenie (Fiona Rene).
After being introduced in season 1, Weigert’s character was written out in the season 2 premiere, with her wife, Velma, acknowledging they needed some space. Subsequently, Velma began collaborating with Reenie — and Teddi was not mentioned again.
“[Teddi] is going to be there for a while. She is helping her mom get sorted. I was getting in the way you might say, and it really wasn’t good,” Velma stated at the start of season 2. “So I came back. Don’t you worry because I am keeping busy.”
Fans expressed their concerns for the main cast when Graise was absent from six episodes. His cousin Randy was introduced to assist Colter before Bobby’s return, resulting in viewer backlash as audiences had become accustomed to seeing Graise on their screens.
Later reports indicated that both Graise and McEnany would not be returning — at least for now.
“Justin has to shoulder much of the show. I don’t want the other characters to merely serve as a phone-a-friend solution whenever he faces trouble. The challenge for season 3 has been crafting a genuinely good story from this,” executive producer Eldwood Reid shared exclusively with Us earlier this month.
Reid confirmed that Reenie and Randy will still be part of the story.
“Reenie carries a lot of guilt from her case in season 2 and has brought Randy along to help rectify the situation. You’ll see them in the office, which will develop a strong bond between the two. We’re also introducing a new character as she seeks to expand her law practice, which will be intriguing,” he added. “Our goal this season is to enrich these storylines. We aimed to infuse some lightness as Colter often deals with heavy, life-or-death scenarios.”
Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET and is available for streaming the next day on Paramount+.
