Justin Hartley Is Having a Moment: TV's No. 1 Star Inks New Deal, Hits Big Screens, and Preps Tracker Season 3

The No. 1 Show Nobody Saw Coming

When CBS premiered Tracker in early 2024, few could have predicted that a procedural about a lone-wolf survivalist collecting bounties for finding missing persons would become the most-watched drama on American broadcast television. Yet that is precisely what happened — not once, but twice in a row. Tracker, starring Justin Hartley as the stoic and resourceful Colter Shaw, has now ranked as the No. 1 non-sports, non-news entertainment series on broadcast TV for two consecutive seasons, a feat that has redefined Hartley's place in the Hollywood landscape.

The numbers are difficult to ignore. Season 2 accumulated more than 18 million viewers across multiple platforms within its first 35 days — a figure that represents a 4% increase year over year, according to CBS. For a broadcast network drama in an era of fragmented streaming audiences, that kind of growth is extraordinary. It has cemented Tracker not just as a hit, but as a genuine television institution.

Who Is Colter Shaw?

Hartley plays Colter Shaw, a rugged survivalist who roams the country taking on reward cases — helping ordinary citizens and law enforcement locate missing people — while navigating his own troubled family past. The character, originally conceived for a CBS pilot called The Never Game and based on author Jeffery Deaver's best-selling novel, blends physical toughness with emotional complexity in a way that has resonated with millions of weekly viewers.

The role represents a deliberate pivot from Hartley's previous career-defining turn as Kevin Pearson, the charming but emotionally fragile brother in NBC's acclaimed ensemble drama This Is Us. Where Kevin was vulnerable and searching, Colter Shaw is self-sufficient and relentless — a contrast that has showcased a different dimension of Hartley's range as a performer.

Season 3: Darker Terrain Ahead

CBS officially renewed Tracker for a third season covering the 2025-2026 broadcast year, with the new installment scheduled to return on Sunday, October 19, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET — retaining its coveted prime Sunday evening slot. The renewal was announced in February 2025, and Hartley marked the occasion by sharing the news with his cast and crew via Instagram.

The upcoming season promises a significant escalation in emotional stakes. Season 3 will pick up after Colter uncovered a connection between his father's mysterious death and a case in his hometown, a revelation that left his character, in Hartley's own words, in a place where he 'kind of crumbles a little bit.' Executive producer Elwood Reid has signaled a darker, more complicated arc for Colter — one that will push the character's physical and psychological limits further than previous seasons. Fans can also expect returning appearances by Sofia Pernas, Hartley's real-life wife, who has made guest appearances in the series.

A New Production Empire: ChangeUp Signs Multi-Year Deal with 20th Television

Riding the wave of Tracker's success, Hartley moved decisively to expand his influence behind the camera. In June 2025, Deadline exclusively reported that ChangeUp Productions — Hartley's production company, which he launched in 2019 — signed a new multi-year first-look deal with 20th Television, a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios. The agreement is a significant upgrade from the original pod deal that first brought the two parties together six years ago.

Under the terms of the new arrangement, ChangeUp will develop and produce original, character-driven content spanning broadcast, cable, streaming, and film. Julianna LaRosa serves as Head of Development at the company, and the deal effectively transforms ChangeUp from a vehicle for a single flagship project into a fully operational creative studio with the infrastructure to launch multiple series and films. Former co-stars and colleagues were quick to celebrate the announcement on social media, with Sterling K. Brown, Jensen Ackles, and Chrissy Metz all posting words of congratulation for Hartley.

Bride Hard: Hartley Takes On the Big Screen

While Tracker dominated the small screen, Hartley also made a conspicuous bid for theatrical relevance with Bride Hard, an action-comedy that opened in June 2025. The film reunites him with Rebel Wilson — alongside whom he previously appeared in the Netflix comedy Senior Year — as well as co-stars Anna Chlumsky, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Anna Camp. The premise places Wilson's undercover agent character at a lavish wedding that is overtaken by armed operatives, blending the genre conventions of Die Hard–style action with broad comedy.

Hartley attended the film's June 18 premiere in West Hollywood alongside his wife Sofia Pernas and his daughter Isabella, 20. The event offered a rare glimpse of the actor's family life on a public stage, and the turnout underscored the cross-platform momentum Hartley has built: simultaneously the face of the most-watched drama on broadcast TV and a leading man in a wide-release studio comedy.

The Road From This Is Us to Television Royalty

It is worth pausing to appreciate the arc. Hartley first gained national recognition through soap opera roles on Passions and The Young and the Restless before landing the breakthrough role of Kevin Pearson on NBC's This Is Us in 2016. That critically acclaimed drama — with its ambitious, non-linear storytelling and emotionally devastating character work — earned him a devoted following and positioned him as a prestige television actor. When the show ended, the question was what came next.

The answer, it turns out, was something more commercially dominant than even his This Is Us success. Tracker became the vehicle that elevated Hartley from ensemble cast member to singular franchise star. His appearance as a presenter at the 2025 Emmy Awards in September — attended alongside Pernas at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles — confirmed his status as one of the industry's most prominent figures heading into the 2025-2026 season.

Personal Life and Philanthropy

Off screen, Hartley has cultivated a notably stable personal life after a period of public scrutiny surrounding his 2019 divorce from Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause. He and Sofia Pernas, who met on the set of The Young and the Restless in 2015 and reconnected several years later, married in a private ceremony in 2021. The couple regularly appear together at industry events, and Pernas has stepped in front of the Tracker cameras for guest roles — a creative partnership that Hartley has spoken about warmly.

Beyond his screen work, Hartley serves on the board of Operation Therapy, a nonprofit organization that connects veterans with trained service animals. He is also actively involved in animal rescue causes across the country. The philanthropic commitments, combined with the professional milestones of 2025, paint the picture of a performer operating at full tilt — in front of the camera, behind it, and in the broader community.

What remains unclear

• Box office performance and critical reception figures for Bride Hard are not available in the sources consulted for this report.
• The specific new projects ChangeUp Productions plans to develop under the 20th Television deal have not been publicly announced.
• Whether Tracker Season 3 will sustain or grow the show's existing ratings record is inherently uncertain at this stage.
• Unverified reports on a single low-credibility outlet suggested a future Netflix thriller and a co-production film with Sofia Pernas; these claims could not be confirmed by reputable sources and are excluded from this report's verified claims.
• Guest-star lineup and episode count for Tracker Season 3 have not been officially confirmed as of the publication date.

What happens next

All eyes turn to the October 19 premiere of Tracker Season 3, which carries the weight of maintaining two seasons of ratings momentum while delivering on the promise of a darker, more emotionally complex storyline. Separately, the entertainment industry will be watching ChangeUp Productions to see which projects emerge from the new 20th Television partnership. No specific titles have been announced publicly. The box office trajectory of Bride Hard and any future film opportunities it may have opened for Hartley also remain to be seen.