TV Show review
February 11, 2024 · TV-14 · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Tracker is a CBS procedural drama starring Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, a lone-wolf survivalist and reward seeker who uses expert tracking skills to solve missing persons cases for private citizens and law enforcement while dealing with his fractured family and a deepening mystery about his father's death. Across three seasons it mixes episodic crime cases with an ongoing conspiracy arc involving "The Process," an unethical blackmail and research operation. The show stays a mainstream action-crime series built around a competent male lead and supporting team. Limited audience-visible woke elements appear mainly in early seasons through a lesbian married couple serving as background handlers, a disabled actor in a tech support role, and a competent female lawyer played by Chinese-American actress Fiona Rene in a key recurring position. One S3 episode titled "Eat the Rich" involves a wealthy family's secrets and fixer but operates as a standard thriller plot tied to the father's past
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Tracker.
Woke representation / casting
Early seasons include a lesbian married couple (Velma and Teddi) as Colter's background handlers shown in domestic scenes, a disabled actor in functional tech support, and Chinese-American actress Fiona Rene as competent lawyer Reenie in prominent recurring support with personal ties to the lead. The lead remains a traditional white male survivalist hero. Later seasons remove the couple and disabled character. Casting offices include some with DEI and inclusive reputations. Supporting and background patterns rather than central identity signaling or prominent quota-style archetypes in hero roles.
Woke political dialogue
Standard procedural talk drives most episodes. One viewer noted occasional throwaway lines and an immigration-themed story as minor irritations, but no explicit activist speeches, identity lectures, or social-justice dialogue appear across the seasons. Focus stays on case-solving and personal/conspiracy threads.
Identity-driven story themes
Core is episodic tracking cases plus Colter's family trauma and conspiracy arc centered on "The Process" (unethical experiment and blackmail). Background lesbian handler couple appears in S1-2. S3 "Eat the Rich" episode involves wealthy family secrets but serves as thriller plot advancing the father's mystery rather than identity or class-politics messaging. Immigration case functions as con-artist device. No dominant race, gender, or sexuality-driven arcs or representation-first structure.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Stories feature corrupt local officials, campus conspiracies, and the overarching "The Process" as a sinister underground blackmail operation tied to psychology research with possible institutional ties. These follow classic conspiracy-thriller conventions of hidden power and abuse. Father's off-grid paranoia contrasts with broader society. "Eat the Rich" case ties to personal investigation and specific bad actors. No reframing into modern activist critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, whiteness, or systemic Western institutions.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The series adapts Jeffery Deaver's original novels with standard television expansions such as an added support team and serialized family mystery. No legacy characters, source canon, or historical figures receive identity-driven, DEI, or activist reinterpretations or swaps. Deviations serve procedural format needs.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Isolated early trailer and online comments labeled it "DEI" or "too woke and PC." A conservative blog noted mostly avoided politics with minor flags on lines and one immigration episode. No major news coverage, sustained social campaigns, or broad debate framed the show as pushing woke, DEI, identity politics, or left-wing content. Strong ratings success and placement on some "non-woke" viewer lists indicate limited traction for complaints. Evidence remains fringe and weak.
Creator track record context
Ben H. Winters brings prior work on systemic and institutional themes, though the Tracker adaptation aligns more closely with straightforward source thrillers. Elwood Reid has stated opposition to importing current political agendas. Directors range moderate to low. Some casting directors carry DEI and inclusive office reputations. Producers are largely mainstream network veterans with family-drama ties and low individual activist profiles. Overall industry pattern for a hit procedural rather than strongly activist creative team; Winters provides the clearest upward signal without dominating the final product.
Production
