Reacher's Better Replacement Show Arrives In 2 Weeks

Published Sep 22, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

Although Reacher season 4 was a major hit with critics upon its Prime Video release, the action thriller’s superior network TV substitute, Tracker, returns to screens in only two weeks. The streaming revolution has given birth to a slew of new TV subgenres as traditional networks have scurried to keep up with the innovations of services like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV, and HBO Max.

One of the most popular new genres of the 2020s is the phenomenon of so-called ‘Dad TV,’ an affectionate term for action thrillers that prioritize straightforward action, black and white morality, and crowd-pleasing storytelling over complex plotting, moral ambiguity, and diffuse plotting. Shows like Netflix’s The Night Agent broke streaming records by offering viewers rugged heroes beating up bad guys in an era when many spy shows were instead ruminating on the complex morality of espionage.

For viewers who were tired of acclaimed dramas like The Americans, with their slow-burn plots and patient pacing, streaming hits like Prime Video’s Lee Child adaptation Reacher represented a welcome change. That R-rated action thriller cast Alan Ritchson as Child’s hulking titular soldier of fortune, pitting the one-man-army against cartoonishly evil drug dealers, corrupt cops, and terrorists. As successful as Reacher has been, however, its CBS competitor Tracker offers an even stronger take on the Dad TV trend.

Tracker Season 4 Premieres October 4, 2026

Starring Ritchson’s one-time Smallville co-star Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, the eponymous survivalist, Tracker is a procedural thriller based on author Jeffrey Deaver’s 2019 novel The Never Game. Hartley’s Shaw works as a bounty hunter to make a living, taking payment from cops and civilians alike to track down criminals and missing people. Like Reacher, Shaw is a lone wolf whose brooding exterior hides a heart of gold, but he’s not afraid to rely on his fists and wits when faced with career criminals and powerful villains.

Tracker’s season 4 premiere arrives on October 4, less than a month after Prime Video’s first Reacher spinoff Neagley premiered. The similarities between the two shows are self-evident, with both focusing on traditional macho action heroes who eschew personal connections in favor of a solitary existence. Both heroes run from their dark and traumatic pasts by traveling the country helping out the little guy, but both shows also avoid getting bogged down in these sad backstories when there are high-octane chases and fight scenes to focus on instead.

Why Tracker Is A Better Reacher Alternative

Since Reacher and Tracker are so clearly similar, one might reasonably wonder why the latter isn’t just a redundant ripoff. However, the pacing and structure of the two shows are very different. In an era when network TV is taking narrative cues from streaming, ironically, it is the very same tenets of traditional network TV structure that allows Tracker to offer a valuable alternative to Reacher.

Since Tracker is a network TV show, the CBS series has a 13-episode first season and seasons 2 and 3 run 20 and 22 episodes, respectively. In contrast, with a mere eight episodes per season, Reacher has released 32 episodes in four years compared to Tracker’s 55 episodes in 2 years. Furthermore, the influence of classic network TV procedural franchises like CSI, NCIS, FBI, Law & Order, and 9-1-1 means that Shaw has a reliable team of supporting characters to work with, where Reacher has few confidantes and colleagues who last more than one season.

While Maria Sten’s Neagley appears in various seasons of Reacher, she is one of the only supporting cast members to do so. As early as season 2, viewers were already voicing frustration about how soon Reacher’s season 1 love interest, Willa Fitzgerald’s Roscoe, was forgotten. In contrast, Tracker’s traditional case of the week procedural formula means the CBS show relies on Shaw’s support team more, thus humanizing Hartley’s character more than Reacher’s titular lone wolf superhero.