Jensen Ackles on Tracker: Colter Reunites With His Estranged Brother Russell in Exclusive Sneak Peek

The relationship between Colter and Russell Shaw is nothing like the relationship between Sam and Dean Winchester. That much is evident in TVLine’s exclusive sneak peek at Jensen Ackles‘ Tracker debut.

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Ackles guest-stars in the penultimate Season 1 episode of the hit CBS drama as Colter’s estranged sib. They team up after Russell asks Colter to help “to track down a former army buddy who’s gone missing after several weeks of paranoid behavior,” according to the official synopsis. “The investigation takes the brothers into the world of Special Forces missions, shady off-the-books programs and conspiracy theories” — as our clip reveals, there’s a severed finger involved! — “all while they contend with their family’s past.”

The Supernatural vet’s arrival comes one week after Tracker introduced Manifest alum Melissa Roxburgh as Colter and Russell’s younger sister Dory. Though all three siblings won’t appear on screen together in Season 1, Roxburgh told TVLine that she’s hopeful she’ll get to share scenes with Ackles in Season 2.

“One of my first jobs was with Jensen [on Supernatural],” she said, recalling her Season 7 guest stint on the CW drama as Lila Taylor. “I think it was my second job ever, actually. I was so green and so new, and it would be nice to play with him again.”

For Ackles fans tuning into Tracker for the first time, here’s some backstory:

Tracker’s Feb. 11 premiere introduced This Is Us vet Hartley as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist who roams the country and uses his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries… all while contending with his own fractured family. 

Flashbacks revealed that Colter, Russell and Dory had an unusual upbringing. Their parents, Ashton and Mary (played by Oz’s Lee Tergesen and Good Sam’s Wendy Crewson), “were professors at Berkeley until there was this incident with my dad,” Colter explained. “So, he took us to live off the grid at this cabin. It was a compound, actually, by Sierra National Forest,” where Ashton “started to talk about these people that were out to get him and how we all had to be prepared. He taught us how to track, how to hunt, and he taught us to free climb at this place called Devil’s Notch.”

One night in 2003, when Mary wasn’t home, Ashton’s paranoia got the best of him and he made a run for it, leaving his three children behind. Russell went after him, and an hour later, Colter found his father, dead, at the bottom of Devil’s Notch. It appeared as though he’d been pushed by Russell. 

In the present day, Russell has attempted to make contact with Colter. There’s supposedly something Colter “needs to know.” However, Mary — who has not been seen since Episode 2 — wanted Colter to disregard his brother’s pleas. Just last week, however, Dory pleaded with Colter to reach out to Russell.

Ackles’ Tracker episode airs Sunday, May 12 at 9/8c on CBS (and streams next day on Paramount+). Watch a sneak peek above, then hit the comments and let us know if you’ll be watching.

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