Jensen Ackles will return for Tracker season 2: ‘We’ve got him,’ says star Justin Hartley

Soldier Boy may be frozen, but Russell Shaw is wide awake and ready to go.

Jensen Ackles will return as Justin Hartley’s estranged brother Colter Shaw in Tracker season 2. During the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association 2024 Press Tour in Pasadena, California, Hartley and executive producer Elwood Reid confirmed that they’re not done exploring the brothers’ family history and will delve deeper when Ackles returns for a multi-episode storyline in season two.

“We’ve got him,” Hartley said of Ackles. “He’ll be back.”

As for how many episodes Ackles will be back for, Hartley couldn’t say, but Reid confirmed it will be “more than one episode.”

“It’s like family,” Reid said at the event, which was also attended by PEOPLE. “When we texted him [he said], ‘Tell me where and when,’ and he showed up. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

A rep for Ackles did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment.

Ackles guest-starred in the penultimate episode of the first season, reuniting Colton with his brother just in time to rekindle buried family history before the finale. Reid also hinted that there’s more family drama to come, teasing the return of Manifest actress Melissa Roxburgh as Colter’s sister, Dory, according to TVLine.

The CBS drama centers on Hartley’s Colter Shaw, a seasoned survivalist and talented tracker who travels the country in his RV, using his skills to help civilians and law enforcement solve crimes and find missing people. The last time Colter teamed up with Russell, his brother sought his help in finding a missing military buddy.

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Tracker isn’t the only series the former Supernatural actor is expected to return to. Ackles previously appeared in season 3 of The Boys, the satirical superhero series from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke that is currently gearing up for its fifth and final season. Though his role as Solider Boy—a foul-mouthed, Captain America-esque World War II superhero—ended when he was removed from duty, Kripke previously told EW that he intentionally left the door open for Ackles to return.

“The old adage in TV is, never kill anyone unless you really, really have to. Never close a door, open a window,” Kripke said at the time. “We’ll all have to wait and see, but I can’t imagine the series ending without Soldier Boy showing up again.”

Ackles returned to Soldier Boy in a guest role on the spinoff series Gen V, but his return to the parent series is highly anticipated thanks to the promise of a full-on Winchester family reunion. Ackles’ Supernatural dad, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, recently joined the show for season four, and Kripke has teased the growing possibility that Sam Winchester’s own Jared Padalecki will also have a place on the show.

Soldier Boy may be frozen, but Russell Shaw is wide awake and ready to go. Jensen Ackles will return as Justin Hartley’s estranged brother Colter Shaw in Tracker season 2. During the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association 2024 Press Tour in Pasadena, California, Hartley and executive producer Elwood Reid confirmed that they’re not…