"Tracker" Star Justin Hartley Says 'Unapologetic ‘Masculinity' Is The Show’s Secret Weapon—And Audiences Are Loving It

It’s no secret that modern entertainment has been tiptoeing around the concept of masculinity, often treating it like an outdated idea or a threat. But if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve likely noticed a shift. Shows like Reacher and Yellowstone are reeling in massive audiences, and at the center of this renaissance is Justin Hartley’s new action-mystery series, Tracker.

In a recent interview with Men’s Journal, Hartley shared that Tracker’s secret weapon isn’t just the whodunit twists or adrenaline-pumping action. It’s the unapologetic masculinity of Colter Shaw, a man who’s rugged and reliable, but also deeply attuned to the emotional lives of the people he helps.

Tracker is based on Jeffrey Deaver’s 2019 novel, The Never Game, and follows Colter Shaw (played by Hartley), a modern-day tracker who solves missing persons cases in bite-sized weekly adventures. And while the show has its fair share of drama, Hartley says Tracker’s real secret weapon is simpler:

“He’s not just a guy. He’s a man,” Hartley said, cutting through the noise of endless “modern man” rebranding. “He doesn’t apologize for it, either.” “I think that’s what people are looking for,” he said. “You’re asking yourself, ‘What kind of people do I want to hang out with?’ And particularly: ‘What kind of male friends do I have in my life that I really value?’”

In a media landscape that often mistakes authentic masculinity for something "toxic," this is a breath of fresh air. Tracker doesn’t ask Hartley’s character to neuter his masculine instincts, which makes Colter Shaw a throwback in the best sense of the word: he’s confident, physically capable, and driven by an internal moral compass. His character speaks to the growing desire for real, grounded masculinity to return to the screen.

It’s not lost on Hartley that this archetype has been sorely missed, and it’s no accident that he mentions Reacher as a kindred spirit. “I’m not sure we’re in a Renaissance period for these kinds of shows, but I think the proof is in the pudding. I mean, look at Reacher. It’s more serialized, but it’s the same kind of thing. People like a hero. They like to root for a hero.”

We’ve been bombarded with so many unrooted characters and self-conscious antiheroes that seeing a moral man who owns his identity is a welcome change.

“He’s a man through and through," Hartley continues. "And that doesn’t mean you have to be the loudest person in the room and know every single f*cking thing and throw tables around and scream and shout and yell and smoke and drink,” he said. “He’s a man because he’s present, because he’s listening.”

In other words, real masculinity is about the ability to protect and provide, to fight when needed, and to know when to stand down. This is the kind of man we see winning over audiences in Reacher, in the quietly compelling heroes of Yellowstone, and the breakout box office hits starring Glen Powell. It’s a masculinity that resonates because it’s unapologetic, and that's what people want to see more of.

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