As viewers await the return of CBS’ fall season, there’s good news for fans of Tracker and Elsbeth as both will have a lot more episodes to play with in their sophomore seasons!
The 2023-24 network TV season was not what it should have been. The combination of the WGA and SAG strikes in the summer and fall of 2023 curtailed all productions, meaning CBS couldn’t start their regular fall seasons. They decided to wait until February to launch their slate, with most shows sticking to 10 to 13 episodes.
The season kicked off in style with Tracker which got a juicy premiere immediately following the Super Bowl. The series stars Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, who travels the country helping out folks in need. The show was an instant ratings hit that earned a second season.
An interesting case was Elsbeth, which had Carrie Preston reprising her Emmy-winning turn from The Good Wife as Elsbeth Tascioni. The lawyer moved to New York City to aid the NYPD and was soon involved in solving murders. Its schedule was interesting as it premiered on February 29, which seemed mostly because having the quirky character premiere on Leap Day made an odd kind of sense. The show then took the entire month of March off before starting its regular run on April 4 and wrapped up after 10 episodes. It did remain a success, earning it a second season as well.
With production underway, the big question is just how many episodes each show will have? Here’s what we know!
How many episodes will Tracker and Elsbeth have for season 2?
Per TVLine, it appears that Elsbeth season 2 will have 20 episodes and Tracker season 2 will contain 22. This is standard for CBS’ scripted series so it makes total sense each show hits that mark.
Elsbeth relies on self-contained storylines with the guest star as the killer and how Elsbeth solves the case being a huge part of the story. The production doesn’t last too long and Elsbeth herself is a delight in the part so a 20-episode run fits. The show also anchors the Thursday night lineup following Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Ghosts and Matlock.
For Tracker, it’s more action oriented and spread around the country but with a small cast as Hartley is the main draw. It, too, goes on self-contained storylines, although season 2 is set to have wider arcs of Colter looking into his family secrets. A 22-episode fits well with its fellow Sunday show, The Equalizer which will have 18 episodes for season 5.
CBS’ schedule looks to be intact and it’s likely the producers of each show are looking forward to using more episodes for better storylines and building on what made season 1 work. Thus, fans are eager to see how both Elsbeth and Tracker handle their respective second seasons with more episodes and continue to be hits for CBS.
