Tracker’s Justin Hartley Teases Colter, Camille’s Bond After Hookup

Justin Hartley revealed how Colter’s connection with new love interest Camille plays out throughout Tracker season 2 following their onscreen hookup.

During the season 2 premiere, which aired on Sunday, October 13, Colter reconnected with Camille (Floriana Lima), who is involved in an open case he wasn’t able to solve. Colter has continued to look for Camille’s missing sister, but their on and off relationship isn’t at its best.

“I think the relationship has changed based on the trauma bond. That’s exactly what it is — a trauma bond,” Hartley, 47, told TVLine on Sunday. “It’s very, very sad, but it’s like these married couples that lose their child, and they can’t be together anymore because they see their child in the other person.”

Colter and Camille are in a “hard” place when Tracker season 2 introduces their dynamic to Us.

“When [her sister Gina disappears], he makes a promise — and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he never promises [his clients] anymore. He says, ‘I will bring her home … I will bring him home,’” Hartley noted. “He says, ‘I am going to do my best … to try.’ This is why.”

Digging into Colter’s past with Camille will unlock more details about him. “[This story line] has been built in a way that, when you look at it, you go, ‘Oh man, that was a pivotal moment in Colter’s life that changed the way he approaches his work and his relationships with other people,’” the actor added.

Based on Jeffery Deaver‘s novel The Never Game, Tracker is centered around a survivalist named Colter who travels the country helping people and law enforcement tackle a variety of mysteries. The TV adaptation features Hartley as the star of the show — and executive producer on the project.

“Obviously, when we started this show, we got the character from the book. And it was important for [fellow executive producer] Ken [Olin] and I to make sure that people had a reason to watch. We need to give people a reason — to show them a reason — why they’re watching this guy,” Hartley told TVLine about how the Camille reveal fits into the overall message of the show. “He’s special, he’s really great at what he does … and it just became one of those things where, towards the end of season 1, you’re thinking to yourself that what we haven’t shown that he’s not infallible.”

He continued: “There is something that happened that he couldn’t get to the bottom of, and it does bother him … he can’t let things go. And I just thought that was such a cool thing to introduce to the character — the idea that this guy suffers. For better or worse, he’s not going to let go of it, and I think that adds to the complexity of the character. It adds to the intrigue.”

Viewers saw Colter hook up with Camille at the end of the episode, which hinted at a romance outside of the case. Hartley couldn’t give much away about their backstory, teasing, “I’m pitching that it was prior to [Gina’s disappearance]. I think it’s stronger … I think it’s deeper.”

Hartley also confirmed that Lima will appear in more episodes.

“A couple of times. We have to tell that backstory, so we’ll tell that story coming up in episodes 8 and 9,” he noted. “I could be lying to you, episodes 8 and 9 or episodes 8 and 10. After that, we’ll see how it all shakes out.”

This isn’t the only love interest of Colter’s this season, though. Sofia Pernas, Hartley’s real-life wife, is reprising her role as Billie as well.

“She’s wonderful. I mean, if I had my choice, I’d spend every minute with her,” Hartley gushed to Us Weekly in July about working with Pernas on Tracker. “What’s really cool is when you meet someone that means so much to you, that you’re so proud to be with and so proud of, and just such a fan of, and to get to see her work, because she’s such a talented actor. She elevates scenes, and so it makes my job easier, actually. But yeah, it’s just wonderful to work with her.”

Tracker airs on CBS Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Paramount+.