For fans of Tracker, part of the reason that Colter Shaw’s (Justin Hartley) adventures are always so engaging is that his supporting cast keeps him on his toes. While Justin Hartley could no doubt lead the show all by himself, it helps that he has allies who he can rely on. With a great team behind him, Colter manages to find his mark each episode, and he couldn’t do it without their help. But while Season 2 has already written off Robin Weigert’s Teddi Bruin at the start of the season, the show has recently stepped away from another main cast member: Eric Graise’s Bobby Exely. The problem is, we have no idea when he’ll be back, if ever.
‘Tracker’ Has Written Off Bobby for “Family Reasons” From the very beginning, Bobby has been a part of Colter’s team. We don’t quite know how they met, or how long they’ve been working together, but as long as Tracker has been on the air, they’ve been pals. He’s helped Colter uncover evidence concerning his infamous “white whale” case, not to mention every other adventure he’s been on. Though Bobby was there to help Colter take down The Teacher (Nicholas Lea) in the mid-season premiere “The Disciple,” he’s been strangely missing ever since. In the very next episode, “Nightingale,” Bobby sends his cousin, Randy (Chris Lee), to replace him as Colter’s tech guy while he is out “dealing with some family stuff…” And, so far, that’s about all the explanation we’ve gotten.
Some fans have been led to speculate that, as with Velma’s (Abby McEnany) decreased appearances this season, Tracker is trying to save money by spreading out its main cast. This way, the show may be able to afford bigger guest stars later on, such as the return of Jensen Ackles’ Russell Shaw, but so far there is no official confirmation that this is the case. In fact, there hasn’t been any clarification at all as to why Eric Graise has taken a step back from the show, neither from the actor himself nor the network. It could be that Tracker is trying to replace Bobby entirely, or maybe the explanation for the character’s exit is something similar to the actor’s. At this point, we can only guess, but we’re still holding out hope that Graise will be back soon, especially since he is still listed among the rest of the main cast in the Tracker credits.
Back in Season 1’s “Chicago,” Colter helped Bobby out with a problem that he couldn’t solve on his own. After a loved one got herself into danger with the wrong people, Colter intervened, leading to the two being in the same room together for the first (and so far only) time on the show. While we don’t know what sort of family emergency Bobby is dealing with now, this may be a situation where Colter could help, if he’s asked. It would be great to see Hartley and Graise share the screen again aside from the simple back-and-forth phone convos. Who knows, we may even see Bobby, Randy, and Colter all in the same place! Admittedly, this would be highly unusual considering that Colter only ever shares screentime with Reenie Greene (Fiona Rene), but it would certainly be a welcome shift.
Randy Is a Fun Replacement, but We Want Bobby Back Of course, our desire to see Bobby return doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with Chris Lee’s Randy. The former Vampire Diaries spin-off star has done a great job making him feel like a different character from Bobby, between his personal style and vocal inflections. He and Colter don’t share the same shorthand either, though their professional relationship is consistent and works well with each episode’s plot. In the most recent episode, “Neptune,” we see that Randy is just as concerned about Colter’s well-being as Bobby is, and he has access to all the same resources, including Reenie. For the most part, it seems that Randy has settled into Bobby’s position nicely, and considering how many episodes he’s been featured in (which likely spans an untold number of weeks, given that Colter travels the country with his Airstream), it feels as if he’s meant to stick around.
Being a replacement character is hard, and while we have nothing against Randy, it’s easy to miss Bobby Exley. The character’s charisma and sidekick-like dynamic with Colter have been absent these past few episodes, and he was always one that we, the audience, could rely on to lift our spirits even in the darkest of episodes. An ever-present help to Colter and a fun cast member to watch perform, Tracker has lost something in Bobby’s absence that it didn’t lose when it previously wrote off Teddi. Since there wasn’t much distinction between Teddi and Velma to begin with, the former’s departure from the show didn’t change the dynamic much (despite Robin Weigert’s acting chops). But Bobby’s absence does change how Tracker feels, even if just for those small windows of time when Colter and Randy are interacting during a job. Again, Lee plays a fun character who could easily return in the future, but we want to see Graise back as Colter’s “guy in the chair” before the season’s end.
