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Tracker in the Media: Have You Seen This Person?

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'Justin Hartley-Fronted Adaptation Of ‘The Never Game’ Scores Pilot Production Commitment At CBS'

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Hartley will play lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a ‘reward seeker’, using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement to solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family.

Shaw, who travels the country in his old-school RV, finds his latest case changes everything. This time, it’s personal. Shaw finds himself caught in a cat-and-mouse game, risking his own life to save the victims. He soon learns that he isn’t the only one on the hunt: Someone is on his trail and closing fast.

Hartley’s Shaw was raised by survivalists off the grid. He and his siblings were schooled by their parents, former professors who fled the city for safety, and taught the rules of survival, or “The Never Game,” as their father called it before he was murdered.

This Is Us exec producer Ken Olin will exec produce and will direct the pilot from a script by executive producer Michael Cooney (Identity).

 

Also the initial announcement from January: https://deadline.com/2021/01/justin-star-the-never-game-produce-ken-olin-tv-series-adaptation-this-is-us-20th-television-1234674174/

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The concept isn't new, but this still sounds interesting to me.

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From commentary at Deadline:

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As Deadline reported in January, pilot scripts were very late this season, leading to late pilot orders. Because of that and other factors, including talent availability, only a portion of the ordered pilots will be delivered and screened before the upfronts, with the rest automatically shifting off-cycle.

Those that will not be for fall schedule consideration include ABC’s drama The Company You Keep and comedy The Son In Law and CBS drama The Never Game because of their respective stars Milo Ventimiglia, Chris Sullivan and Justin Hartley’s commitments to This Is Us; ...

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... (All are firm pilot orders except The Never Game, which is a pilot production commitment.) ...

 

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Trini

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Small update:

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CBS made decisions on all of its 2022 pilots in May. The network had drama The Never Game, starring and executive produced by This Is Us‘ Justin Hartley, with a pilot production commitment. I hear the project, based on Jeffrey Deaver’s novel, is heating up for a pilot order. The project quietly underwent a writer change in the spring, with Ben Winters replacing Michael Cooney. Winters’ script was recently received by the network brass who are said to be high on it, I hear.

https://deadline.com/2022/07/broadcast-pilot-buzz-summer-2022-abc-nbc-cbs-fox-1235072077/

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Trini

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Casting news:

'Mary McDonnell Joins Justin Hartley In CBS Drama Pilot ‘The Never Game’'

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McDonnell will play Mary Dove Shaw, Colter’s (Hartley) solid, strong, and uncompromising mother, who raised her three children on the remote California compound where her husband took them before his mysterious death. She still lives there, self-reliant and upright, the emotional center of Colter’s restless life—and the key to the secrets of his past.

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'Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany & Eric Graise Join ... Pilot'

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Weigert plays Teddi Bruin, a former touring manager for rock musicians who’s now settled into comfortable middle age in Northern Florida with her wife and a bunch of pets. Teddi is one half of the couple that runs Colter’s “back end”: seeking out new jobs, keeping track of the money, occasionally getting him sprung from jail. 

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McEnany portrays Velma Bruin, Teddi’s wife and business partner, the other half of the team that runs Colter’s operations out of a spare room in their charming Florida home. Warmhearted, frank and funny,  Velma is a born caregiver who also gives Colter something he’ll never admit that he needs: emotional support.

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Graise plays Bob Exley, the brilliant and enigmatic computer scientist who serves as a frequent resource, and reliable sparring partner, for Colter Shaw. A bilateral amputee from infancy, Bob is tough as nails and funny as hell and, thanks to his high-end, boutique security company, he earns an enviable living in life’s legal and ethical gray areas.  

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Also a new logline (from the latest casting announcements):

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Written by Ben Winters based on Deaver’s novel, The Never Game follows the adventures of Colter Shaw (Hartley), who was raised by his paranoid survivalist father to be an expert tracker and now makes his living as a “rewardist,” traveling America in his Airstream trailer, helping families recover their lost loved ones and their other most precious things — all while staying one step ahead of the memories that haunt him, and the unanswered questions from his past.

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Trini

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https://www.tvinsider.com/1063782/justin-hartley-quantum-leap-season-1-wife-sofia-pernas/

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And you really haven’t slowed down since saying goodbye to Kevin Pearson on This Is Us earlier this year, have you?

Totally true. So I’m up here in Vancouver with [This Is Us executive producer] Ken Olin and Yasu Tanida, our director of photography on This Is Us. We took everyone and we brought them up here and we’re doing The Never Game [a drama pilot for CBS]. So basically it’s the This is Us crew and the cast is doing an action survival thriller show. It’s really wonderful. It’s great.

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Trini

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Officially going to series !

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/12/15/cbs-announces-its-first-new-series-order-for-2023-2024-season-drama-the-never-game-starring-and-executive-produced-by-justin-hartley-471111/20221215cbs04/

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CBS announced today it has ordered THE NEVER GAME, a new drama series starring and executive produced by Justin Hartley, for the 2023-2024 broadcast season.

Based on the bestselling novel by Jeffery Deaver, THE NEVER GAME features Hartley as lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a "reward seeker," using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family.

"I am overjoyed to give the first new show order for next season to this thrilling new series led by the incredibly talented Justin Hartley," said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment. "THE NEVER GAME is an excellent addition to our already successful drama lineup, and since our viewers love shows with action, intrigue, mystery and complex characters, they will love THE NEVER GAME - it delivers on all fronts."

THE NEVER GAME is produced by Twentieth Television. In addition to Hartley, Ken Olin and Ben H. Winters are executive producing for Twentieth Television. Olin directed the pilot from a script written by Winters. Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, Fiona Rene and Academy Award Winner Mary McDonnell also star.

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Trini

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'Hilary Weisman Graham Tapped As Co-Showrunner For CBS’ ’The Never Game’'

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Social Distance creator Hilary Weisman Graham has been brought in as executive producer and co-showrunner of new CBS drama series The Never Game, starring and executive produced by Justin Hartley. Graham will share showrunning duties with executive producer Ben H. Winters, who wrote the pilot based on the bestselling novel by Jeffery Deaver.

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Graham most recently created, executive produced and served as showrunner of Netflix’s Social Distance, an eight-episode anthology series set in the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her additional credits include Showtime’s Kidding, Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and Fox’s Bones. She also is the author of the young adult novel Reunited, published by Simon & Schuster. Graham is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.

 

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bros402

bros402

On 3/15/2023 at 5:20 PM, Trini said:

Boooo! They changed the title for the show. (Now it's Tracker.)The new name might be slightly better at describing what the show is about, but I think it's blandly generic.

And CBS will start ads for it during March Madness.

https://deadline.com/2023/03/cbs-justin-hartley-drama-new-name-tracker-promos-this-week-march-madness-1235299566/

10 -second teaser:

 

Wow. Never Game wasn't a good name, but Tracker isn't much better.

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Trini

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I really hope this gets to be more than the typical CBS procedural.

Upfronts are this month, so we should know soon when this will air....

... depending on if there's a writer's strike...

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Trini

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Tracker will premiere mid-season, after the Super Bowl.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/05/10/cbs-reveals-its-2023-2024-primetime-lineup-521213/20230510cbs01/

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The previously announced drama TRACKER stars Justin Hartley as lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a "reward seeker," using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family. TRACKER is set to premiere in the highly coveted post-Super Bowl timeslot on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024.

 

A little disappointed it's midseason; but it might have been anyway with the writers strike?

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Trini

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According to Deadline, Tracker is still aiming to premiere mid-season:

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According to sources, The Good Wife spinoff Elsbeth, starring Carrie Preston, and Tracker, toplined by Justin Hartley, remain on track for midseason.

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For Tracker, the goal is to keep its lucrative post-Super Bowl launch slot, with lead producing studio 20th Television making it a priority to get production going as quickly as possible post-strike to make the high-profile delivery date. Tracker was piloted in summer 2022 and ordered to series last December, so a delay to next fall would make the gap between pilot and series launch to more than two years. ...

 

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They might get the first couple episodes done, but I don't see how they'd produce enough episodes quickly enough, even for a short season.  I'm thinking they air the pilot, then the rest of the season a while later.

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Bastet

Bastet

I have zero interest in this show other than Mary McDonnell, so I don't know whether to be annoyed she's not in the trailer or happy that may mean her role is small enough I won't mind skipping it if I still have no interest after watching the pilot.

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Trini

Trini

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23 hours ago, Bastet said:

I have zero interest in this show other than Mary McDonnell, so I don't know whether to be annoyed she's not in the trailer or happy that may mean her role is small enough I won't mind skipping it if I still have no interest after watching the pilot.

According to the last article I linked:

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Though Mary McDonnell <...> was previously announced to be playing Colter’s mother, Mary Dove Shaw, TVLine has learned that she is no longer attached to the series.

 

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

On 12/15/2023 at 10:58 PM, Bastet said:

I have zero interest in this show other than Mary McDonnell, so I don't know whether to be annoyed she's not in the trailer or happy that may mean her role is small enough I won't mind skipping it if I still have no interest after watching the pilot.

I heard that she is no longer a part of the show, but I could be wrong. She was supposed to play his mother.

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

Colter Shaw is a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country in an old school RV as a “reward seeker”.  By using his expert tracking skills, he helps private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of crimes, mysteries, as well as locate missing persons, all while contending with his own fractured family. Shaw's life takes a turn when he gets involved in a “personal” case, which forces him to risk his own life to save the victims. Shaw soon learns that he isn’t the only one on the hunt, someone is on his trail and closing in fast. Tracker is based on the 2019 novel "The Never Game" by Jeffery Deaver. 

tracker-season-1-episode-1d.jpg

Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw

tracker-series-premiere-fiona-rene.jpg

Fiona Rene as Reenie Greene, a lawyer who represents Colter Shaw, they have a complicated relationship.

tracker-season-1-episode-1f.jpg

Robin Weigert as Teddi Bruin, Teddi and Velma handle business and logistics for Colter Shaw 

tracker-series-premiere-abby-mcenany-rob

Abby McEnany as Velma Bruin, Teddi’s wife and business partner.

tracker-series-premiere-cell-phone-repai

Eric Graise as Bobby Exley, Colter Shaw's computer expert 

tracker-series-premiere-gil-brown-family

Prestyn Bates as Young Colter Shaw

tracker-series-premiere-gil-brown-1014x6

Lee Tergesen as Ashton Shaw,  Colter Shaw's father

Matthew Nelson-Mahood as Young Russell Shaw,  Colter Shaw's bother

Aggie Bell as Dorion Shaw,  Colter Shaw's sister

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Trini

Trini

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Reviews are out; links to a few:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/08/tracker-review-this-is-us-alum-justin-hartley-stars-as-a-survivalist-who-who-uses-his-tracking-skills-to-solve-mysteries/

https://www.startribune.com/tv-to-watch-this-is-us-star-justin-hartley-cant-save-tracker/600342302/

https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2024/2/9/24064803/tracker-review-cbs-super-bowl-justin-hartley-abby-mcenany-robin-weigert

https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/cbs-paramount-plus/tracker-series-review

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And articles with quotes from Hartley and the producers:

https://www.newsweek.com/2024/02/16/this-us-justin-hartley-ready-action-tracker-cbs-1867502.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2024/02/08/justin-hartley-tracker-cbs-show/72443481007/

https://ew.com/justin-hartley-breaks-down-tracker-character-after-this-is-us-8558648

 

 

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Featherhat

Featherhat

Not really surprised it's been renewed. Ratings are good even if CBS was probably hoping for a higher sampling post Superbowl. And probably does OK on Paramount+

The next episode looks interesting: 

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The odds are stacked against Colter as he is tasked by a convicted murderer’s teenage daughter to track down a missing witness who could prove her dad’s innocence, on the CBS original series TRACKER, Sunday, March 17

https://www.spoilertv.com/2024/03/tracker-episode-105-st-louis.html 

Different type of missing once again and with a bit more complexity than someone that wants/needs to be found. 

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Snazzy Daisy

Snazzy Daisy

🙄🙄🙄

Did Tracker Tease Spinoff? Is SYTYCD Nixing Live Shows? Is Grey’s Doc Officially Unlikable? Was FBI’s Isobel Out of Line? And More TV Qs!

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Intentional or not, did Sunday’s Tracker — which introduced Justin Hartley’s real-life wife/Blood & Treasure vet Sofia Pernas as fellow reward seeker Billie Matalon — feel like a backdoor pilot for a potential Pernas-led spinoff of CBS’ freshman hit? Titled TrackHer, maybe?

 

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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

(edited)

S01.E08: Camden gave Tracker it's largest audience yet with 8.6 million viewers. 

60 Minutes with 8.6 million viewers. 

S01.E08: Camden gave Tracker it's largest audience yet with 8.2 million viewers. 

Edited by AnimeMania
Posted wrong number.
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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

59 minutes ago, buttersister said:

They came for Billy Joel.

60 Minutes with 8.6 million viewers.

S01.E08: Camden gave Tracker it's largest audience yet with 8.2 million viewers. 

Billy Joel Concert with 5.7 million viewers. They cut off the Billy Joel concert in the middle of Piano Man, with a half hour left to air. CBS will replay the entire concert on April 19, 2024 at 9pm.

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DanaK

DanaK

On 4/17/2024 at 1:58 AM, AnimeMania said:

60 Minutes with 8.6 million viewers.

S01.E08: Camden gave Tracker it's largest audience yet with 8.2 million viewers. 

Billy Joel Concert with 5.7 million viewers. They cut off the Billy Joel concert in the middle of Piano Man, with a half hour left to air. CBS will replay the entire concert on April 19, 2024 at 9pm.

It was technically just a couple minutes, assuming one added time given the sports overrun. There was a timing glitch going into the late news because of a news interruption before the concert broadcast so the last minute or so got cut off

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Snazzy Daisy

Snazzy Daisy

(edited)

Tracker: Jensen Ackles Cast as Colter’s Brother Russell — Get Airdate and Storyline Scoop

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Colter Shaw’s family tree is now complete.

CBS‘ Tracker has enlisted Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, The Boys) to play Colter’s estranged brother Russell. The casting was first confirmed by Colter himself, Justin Hartley, who shared a video with his new TV brother on Instagram Thursday.

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TVLine can now confirm that Ackles will guest-star on Sunday, May 12 (CBS, 9/8c), in Season 1’s penultimate episode, “Off the Books.” The official synopsis for the hour reads as follows:

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Colter is forced to team up with his estranged brother, Russell, who enlists his help to track down a former army buddy who’s gone missing after several weeks of paranoid behavior. The investigation takes the brothers into the world of Special Forces missions, shady off-the-books programs and conspiracy theories, all while they contend with their family’s past.

 

Edited by Snazzy Daisy
Added S01E12 synopsis!
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AnimeMania

AnimeMania

19 minutes ago, Pondlass1 said:

Haven’t watched before… I’ll be watching now for Jensen. The series gets good reviews.  Looks like he’s made a good choice.  
 

Jensen Ackles will be in Episode 12.

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