What Happened To Bobby On Tracker? His Absence, Explained – SlashFilm

Paramount has discovered success with extra conservative-leaning reveals lately, with probably the most distinguished instance being “Yellowstone” and its huge universe of spin-offs. In fact, if you are going to enterprise into leisure particularly designed for center America, you are inevitably going to supply some form of survivalist-led collection, which is strictly 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 residing by monitoring down lacking individuals for each regulation enforcement and on a regular basis residents, gathering 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 perfect on-display model of the character), Shaw is not an entire lone-wolf, counting on a help staff that features his “man within the chair” Bobby Exley (Eric Graise).

Understanding of a tech restore retailer in Chicago, Bobby supplies Shaw with all of the investigative help he wants and shortly turned a fan-favourite in “Tracker” season 1. On the finish of that inaugural season, the collection bid farewell to Robin Weigert’s Teddi Bruin, one in all Shaw’s handler’s who mysteriously left the present for its second season. Then, it appeared Bobby was to undergo the identical destiny after he too went lacking from the season mid-method via. Fortunately, it appears Shaw’s man may be very a lot again within the chair. However why did he go lacking for thus lengthy within the first place, and is Bobby being phased out of “Tracker” completely?

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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 cellphone and tells Colter that Bobby was “coping with some household stuff” and that he “needed to ensure he did not depart you hanging.”

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However “Tracker” very a lot left followers hanging for the following 5 episodes, throughout which period Bobby was nowhere to be seen. In episode 15, Randy revealed that Bobby was attending a buddy’s funeral, stating that the buddy was “like a brother” however providing no updates as to when the tech skilled 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 cellphone 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 rationalization 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 buddy’s funeral. As such, followers puzzled whether or not the present’s writers had initially scrambled for a proof, solely to vary it because the season went on. This might 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, plainly Bobby will stay a fixture of the collection in the intervening time.

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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 discuss Randy for a second? I like Chris Lee with every little thing in my physique. He is been such a beautiful 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 come back, 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 method 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. However it is also the case that the writers had been establishing a forthcoming storyline, whereby Bobby doubtlessly asks Colter for assist in fixing the dying of his buddy, to whom he was clearly very shut. Why else would the writers change the reason for Bobby’s absence except they’d developed the backstory behind-the-scenes?

A a lot much less fascinating however equally believable rationalization for Bobby’s prolonged absence may very well be that CBS was merely attempting to economize. Again in Could 2024, Deadline reported that the community had diminished the minimal assured episodes for a number of collection regulars on its reveals “FBI” and “FBI: Most Wished.” It was a value-slicing train that sounded similar to the methods wherein sure “Gray’s Anatomy” forged members additionally had their assured episodes lower.

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Regardless of the case, we a minimum of 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 like Bobby can be going lacking once more anytime quickly.