What Happened To Bobby On Tracker? His Absence, Explained

Paramount has found success with more conservative-leaning shows in recent years, with the most prominent example being "Yellowstone" and its vast universe of spin-offs. Of course, if you're going to venture into entertainment specifically designed for middle America, you're inevitably going to produce some sort of survivalist-led series, which is exactly what we've got in the form of "Tracker."

The show stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, the titular survivalist who makes a living by tracking down missing people for both law enforcement and everyday citizens, collecting the rewards and delivering a healthy dose of ass-kickery and machismo in the process. But unlike another itinerant all-American hero, Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher (the best on-screen version of the character), Shaw isn't a complete lone-wolf, relying on a support team that includes his "man in the chair" Bobby Exley (Eric Graise).

Working out of a tech repair store in Chicago, Bobby provides Shaw with all the investigative support he needs and quickly became a fan-favorite in "Tracker" season 1. At the end of that inaugural season, the series bid farewell to Robin Weigert's Teddi Bruin, one of Shaw's handler's who mysteriously left the show for its second season. Then, it seemed Bobby was to suffer the same fate after he too went missing from the season mid-way through. Thankfully, it seems Shaw's man is very much back in the chair. But why did he go missing for so long in the first place, and is Bobby being phased out of "Tracker" entirely?

In "Tracker" season 2, episode 10, "Nightingale," Colter investigates the disappearance of a grandson in a town where a singer named Angie also happened to have gone missing. In his quest to uncover the truth, Colter runs afoul of the local sheriff and a biker gang, prompting him to call upon Bobby for some assistance. But instead of his trusted associate, Bobby's cousin Randy answers the phone and tells Colter that Bobby was "dealing with some family stuff" and that he "wanted to make sure he didn't leave you hanging."

But "Tracker" very much left fans hanging for the next five episodes, during which time Bobby was nowhere to be seen. In episode 15, Randy revealed that Bobby was attending a friend's funeral, stating that the friend was "like a brother" but offering no updates as to when the tech expert would return. Meanwhile, a mid-season trailer released back in February had already confirmed that Bobby would be back, and in season 2, episode 16, "The Mercy Seat," the hacker finally returned. The episode saw Reenie (Fiona Rene) talking on the phone to Bobby, who's shown to be back in the tech repair shop alongside Randy and says that he's "taking it one day at a time."

Fans of the show surely noted, however, that the original explanation Randy gave was different to the explanation that emerged in episode 15. Originally, Randy said that Bobby was dealing with "family stuff" but then revealed that he was attending a friend's funeral. As such, fans wondered whether the show's writers had initially scrambled for an explanation, only to change it as the season went on. This would suggest there were some behind-the-scenes issues at play, which in turn casts doubt on whether Eric Graise himself was withdrawing from "Tracker." Thankfully, though, it seems that Bobby will remain a fixture of the series for the time being.

In March of 2025, Reenie actor Fiona Rene spoke to TV Insider about "Tracker" and offered a glimpse at the future of the series when she praised Chris Lee's performance as Randy, saying, "Can we just talk about Randy for a second? I love Chris Lee with everything in my body. He's been such a wonderful addition to the Bobby dynamic, and I am very excited to see them together." As far as Rene is concerned, then, there's plenty of Bobby and Randy to come, suggesting Eric Graise's character will remain on the show for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, questions remain about why Bobby was absent for multiple episodes. Was it just a way for the writers to properly introduce Randy, giving the audience a chance to get to know the character on his own before establishing the dynamic between him and Bobby? Perhaps. But it could also be the case that the writers were setting up a forthcoming storyline, wherein Bobby potentially asks Colter for help in solving the death of his friend, to whom he was clearly very close. Why else would the writers change the explanation for Bobby's absence unless they'd developed the backstory behind-the-scenes?

A much less interesting but equally plausible explanation for Bobby's extended absence could be that CBS was simply trying to save money. Back in May 2024, Deadline reported that the network had reduced the minimum guaranteed episodes for several series regulars on its shows "FBI" and "FBI: Most Wanted." It was a cost-cutting exercise that sounded very similar to the ways in which certain "Grey's Anatomy" cast members also had their guaranteed episodes cut.

Whatever the case, we at least know that Bobby is back in "Tracker." And despite not being part of the sprawling Taylor Sheridan TV empire, the show has already been renewed for season 3, and it doesn't look like Bobby will be going missing again anytime soon.