Tracker Season 3 Replaces Velma With Walking Dead Vet — Who Plays Mel?

Sunday's episode of "Tracker" stealthily introduced a familiar TV face as Reenie sought a (supposedly) temporary replacement for Velma.

Midway through Season 3, Episode 3, Reenie interviewed a pair of applicants to fill in while Velma's away, attempting to salvage her relationship with Teddy. But as TVLine exclusively reported in July, Velma's portrayer, Abby McEnany, will not return to the Justin Hartley procedural. Along with fellow original cast member Eric Graise (aka Bobby), McEnany was not invited back for Season 3.

Reenie's second applicant, Melanie Day, was played by Cassady McClincy Zhang — best known to TV audiences as Lydia from the final three seasons of "The Walking Dead." And here's what you need to know about Mel, who ultimately snagged the job as Reenie's new assistant:

She has a BA in criminal justice and landed a highly coveted post-grad internship with District Attorney "Honest Abe" Kimber — who, if Reenie's reaction is any indication, is a real piece of work. "He taught me how to hold my ground and not take things personally," Mel said. "I did learn from him, so it's bad with the good, I guess."

Though Mel could work for any of the big firms, she told Reenie that she's followed her career. "I know that you got a lot of flack for leaving [your prestigious firm] before making partner, but I totally get it. I'm pretty averse to the bureaucratic machine, too... and to be honest, I'm curious about the rewardist you work with, Colter Shaw." (Aha!) "I know that the job description is for your legal work, but I just think that's really cool." Once Reenie let her know that there's definitely some overlap, Mel assured her, "I can handle whatever you throw at me."

When Reenie asked Mel to share something that wasn't on her "very perfect résumé," she revealed why she's so averse to bureaucracy: "My mom," an Army logistics officer, "died when I was 16. She was found in her car, shot in the parking lot of a rest stop, but they never found out who did it. So there were no answers, no justice.... I guess it just felt like the systems that were supposed to be there to support her were more interested in protecting themselves." (Hmm... sounds like another cold case in the vein of Gina Picket for Colter to eventually solve.)

After that, Reenie hired Mel, then introduced her to Randy (Chris Lee). Randy warned her not to get too used to his face, alleging he's just here on a temporary basis — "freelance tech support." But Reenie wasn't having it.

"I don't know why you keep saying that," she interjected. "He's staying."

As such, it would appear that Bobby and Velma have officially been replaced by Randy and Mel — though Lee and Zhang are currently billed as guest stars.

What are your first impressions of Mel? Does she feel like a good fit for Colter's team? Drop your thoughts in a comment below.