Tracker Boss On 'Killing Off' Jensen Ackles' Russell And The Possibility Of A Spinoff

Russell Shaw may have been "killed off" in Sunday's "Tracker," but Jensen Ackles' character ultimately lived to fight another day.

Midway through Part 2 of the CBS drama's two-part Season 3 premiere, Colter and Russell faked the latter's death — ketchup splatter and all! — to throw The Process off their trail. It was a brief but amusing moment that showrunner Elwood Reid says perfectly captured the brothers' contrasting styles.

"We shot a whole bit where they argued about how to fake the death," Reid recalls. "Russell's the 'I've done this before' guy, while Colter's trying to do everything by the book. It was funny, but we had to cut it for time. The ketchup shot said it all — and it's perfectly on-brand for Russell."

Colter later confronts The Process' leader, who targets flawed individuals too afraid to go to the police — including, maybe, Mary and Dory. But do those pictures on his computer screen suggest that The Process has actual intel on the Shaw family, and that we'll circle back to what may or may not have been on its servers at a later date?

Though Reid doesn't want to overpromise, he does confirm that "the world of academia that the Process came from overlaps with Ashton Shaw's world. That's intentional," he says. "We [first] planted those seeds in Season 2 — government experiments, social-science projects, the paranoia of the '70s. It's all going to intersect in interesting ways later this season."

Meanwhile, Russell promises to look further into the mysterious phone number Colter mentioned in Part 1 — the number that belonged to a scientist who died the same year as their father. Reid confirms that thread will resurface "around Episode 6 or 7," when Colter ultimately runs it down himself and uncovers another person connected to it. Whether Russell reenters the picture for that arc remains to be seen, but Reid says he'd bring Ackles back in a heartbeat if the stars align.

"He was shooting 'Countdown' and about to start 'The Boys' spinoff ['Vought Rising'] when we grabbed him for this arc," Reid explains. "He literally had 10 days off, and I talked him into spending eight of them with us. He's a great guy, and if I can squeeze him in again, I will."

Since shooting the two-part premiere, Prime Video has cancelled "Countdown," which frees Ackles up some. And all that talk in this week's episode about Russell potentially going into business for himself sure sounded like the setup for a spinoff.

Reid admits he's already toyed with the idea of an offshoot — one that would lean into the character's military background — but maintains that there is no spinoff in active development at this time.

"We're cautious," he says. "'Tracker' is Justin [Hartley]'s show, and we never want to do anything that cheapens it. That said, Russell's military background opens the door to a very different kind of series — one that plays to Jensen's strengths.

"We didn't even ask for permission," Reid says of Russell's dialogue at the end of Episode 2. "We just put it in there. As the kids say, I'm manifesting it. It could be a lot of fun if the timing ever lines up."

What did you think of "Tracker" Season 3, Episode 2? Grade it via the following poll, then leave a comment and tell us if you're hoping for a Jensen Ackles spinoff.