Look who’s joining Justin Hartley’s hit freshman drama, Tracker! None other than another soap alum, former Days of our Lives and Supernatural favorite Jensen Ackles.

In a reveal via Hartley’s Instagram on Thursday, Ackles is set to play Hartley’s on-screen brother on the CBS procedural drama. In Tracker, Colter Shaw is estranged from his brother, Russell, which has been a big part of the mystery of season one.

Ackles is best known for his long run as Dean Winchester in The CW’s Supernatural, a role he reprised in the prequel of the series The Winchesters. He also recently starred in ABC’s Big Sky as Sheriff Beau Arlen and in The Boys as Soldier Boy.

Photo: CBS

Jensen was the original Eric Brady on Days of our Lives, a role he played from 1997-2000, before departing for the world of primetime and film.  Eric was in love with Nicole played by Arianne Zucker. The part of Eric was recast with Greg Vaughan taking over the role in 2012.

Photo: JPI

In his Instagram post, Justin thanked everyone for watching Tracker, and then revealed Ackles as the surprise casting announcement in the role of Russell, while Jensen was playing pinball in the video! No word yet on when Jensen’s first episode as Russell will air. Stay tuned.

Check out Justin’s casting post featuring Jensen Ackles below.  So, what do you think of Justin and Jensen playing brothers on Tracker? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

 

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While Justin Hartley’s freshman drama Tracker on CBS is a bonafide smash hit, the man who is now executive producing and the lead of the complex procedural drama, had his humble show biz TV beginnings on the cult favorite soap opera, Passions.

From 2002-2006, Hartley became beloved by young soap viewers everywhere for his performance of Nicholas Foxworth Crane, better known as “Fox.”

Throughout his run on the former NBC soap opera, Hartley’s co-stars now read as who’s who of the soaps including good friend, Eric Martsolf (ex-Ethan, Passions, now Brady, DAYS), former real-life wife, Lindsay Korman (ex-Theresa, Passions), Brook Kerr (ex-Whitney, Passions, now Portia, General Hospital) and even the late, great Andrea Evans (ex-Rebecca, Passions, and ex-Tina One Life to Live).

Photo: JPI

In a look-back at some of the memorable roles of his career at TV Insider including as Adam Newman on The Young and the Restless, the feature has some notable quotes from Justin.

The one that struck us the most was when Hartley was speaking about his time on Passions, which for anyone who knows the show, saw him most of the time shirtless in a scene for absolutely no apparent reason. Looks like Justin agrees with that assessment too, sharing, “They’d have me with no shirt walking around a hospital for three weeks. It was ridiculous, but I loved it.”

Photo: CBS

Meanwhile, tonight on an all-new episode of Tracker (9pm ET/PT) titled “Aurora”, when a widower offers a reward to find his only daughter who disappeared three years ago and is presumed dead, Colter (Hartley) agrees to help track her down. After the missing girl’s father shows Colter a newspaper photo from a recent county fair he’s convinced is her, Colter’s search leads him into the world of amateur ghost hunting and paranormal activity.

“Aurora” is directed by none other than Hartley’s former This Is Us co-star Jon Huertas (ex-Miquel).  In fact, Huertas told TV Insider, he wouldn’t wait to direct Justin again, as he did on the former NBC drama in which they both appeared.

Photo: CBS

Huertas expressed: “I’ll be honest, Justin was one of my favorite actors on the show to watch, to work with, and to direct. I was able to do all of that on This Is Us. And so when the opportunity came up, Ken Olin was like, ‘Hey, you interested in directing on this show, Tracker?’ I was like, “Absolutely. I get to work with Justin again.”‘

So, do you remember Justin as Fox Crane mostly walking around plenty of times shirtless in story as soap hunks do, but for no particular reason? Are you going to catch ‘Tracker’ tonight which features a behind the scenes reunion and collaboration between Jon Huertas and Justin? Comment below.

Last week This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman revealed on social media that production is underway for his new series with a shot of Oscar nominee, Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction, ex-Randall, This Is Us).

Fogelman and Brown previously revealed back in April of 2023 that they were collaborating on a new thriller for Hulu called Paradise City.  In it, Brown stars as the head of security for a former president. Both Brown and Fogelman are listed as two of the executive producers of the series.

Now comes word that former One Life to Live favorite, Tuc Watkins will soon be seen in a recurring role in Paradise City. He joins other notables attached to the project including: James Marsden, Julianne Nicholson, and Sarah Shahi.

Photo: Netflix

Soap fans remember Tuc’s performances as One Life to Live’s David Vickers, a role he played and relished from 1994-1996 and then again from 2001-2013; including being a part of the final episodes of the show on ABC, and then reprising the role in Prospect Park’s reboot of the show.

Photo: JPI

Most recently, Tuc has appeared in the series Uncoupled, The Other Two, and Black Monday. On stage, Watkins co-starred in Inheritance at The Geffen Theatre, and the Broadway production of The Boys in the Band as well as the Netflix film version opposite Jim Parsons and Matt Bomer.

Photo: JPI

No word yet on a timetable for the release of Paradise City, or more details on Watkins recurring role, but we will keep you updated when the information becomes available.

So, looking forward to seeing Tuc in the thriller from Dan Fogelman and Sterling K. Brown? Comment below.