Melissa Roxburgh Explains Why Joining CBS' Tracker As Colter's Complicated Sister Opposite Justin Hartley 'Was A No-Brainer'
Here's what the Manifest alum told us about Tracker.
Tracker quickly became a new hit for CBS when it arrived on Super Bowl Sunday in the 2024 TV schedule, with Justin Hartley returning to primetime in a whole new way after This Is Us. Now, the drama is just a couple of weeks away from the Season 1 finale, and the stakes for Colter are getting higher with the arrival of none other than his sister Dory, played by Manifest alum Melissa Roxburgh. The actress spoke with CinemaBlend about the appeal of joining the show as well as the complications of the Shaw family.
Melissa Roxburgh debuts on Tracker as Dory in the May 5 episode, called "Beyond the Campus Walls." Colter encounters his sister when the case of a missing grad student brings him into town, and the promo indicates that the siblings will make time to talk about their dad. I spoke with Roxburgh about her arrival on the show, which received an early renewal for Season 2. When asked what drew her to Tracker and if she already knew what a hit it was when she signed on, the actress shared:
While Tracker is the first project that teams Justin Hartley and Melissa Roxburgh up on screen, the Manifest alum shared that she was already close with him before starring as his sister. When I asked if they knew each other from their mutual NBC days – when he starred on This Is Us while Manifest was in its pre-Netflix days – she clarified:
Justin Hartley has been married to actress Sofia Pernas since 2021, and the two appeared on Quantum Leap together before she joined her husband for an episode of Tracker earlier this year. Roxburgh was already friends with Hartley prior to playing Dory since he was married to one of her close friends, so the two actors had some background before playing siblings.
These two siblings aren't two of a kind, however, as Dory is a university professor with roots down, while Colter lives more of a vagabond life. Hints about the third Shaw sibling, Russell (to be played by Supernatural alum Jensen Ackles next week), indicate that he's not quite as settled as Dory either. Melissa Roxburgh weighed in on how different Dory's path in life is from her brothers:
All in all, from what we've seen in our glimpses of Colter's childhood over the first ten episodes of Season 1, there might be too much baggage in the Shaw kids' pasts for everybody to "be okay" any time soon. Fortunately, the renewal for Season 2 and both of Colter's siblings being cast suggests that Tracker still has plenty of Shaw family story to tell. So, is Dory in a healthier place in her life than her brothers are? I asked Roxburgh that very question, and she shared:
Luckily for fans, the wait is nearly over to see how the Dory/Colter part of the Shaw family dynamic works by this point. Plus, Jensen Ackles arrives as Russell just one week after Roxburgh's debut as Dory. Check out the promo for "Beyond the Campus Walls" and what to expect from the new storyline:
CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER
Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News
Be sure to tune in to CBS on Sunday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET for the "Beyond the Campus Walls" episode of Tracker, featuring Melissa Roxburgh as Dr. Dory Shaw. If you've missed any episodes of the new hit show, you can find the full first season so far streaming with a Paramount+ subscription and catch up before the finale on May 19.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).