Why Eric Graise's Bobby Exley Left Tracker

When Justin Hartley's "Tracker" returned for Season 3 in 2024, there were two substantial omissions from the show's usual suspects: Neither Velma Bruin (Abby McEnany) nor Bobby Exley (Eric Graise) were anywhere to be seen. The role of Colter Shaw's (Hartley) hacker buddy Bobby, of course, had already been waning on the show during Season 2, but completely removing him from the show all of a sudden might have surprised a few fans. 

In an interview with Looper's sister site TVLine, "Tracker" showrunner Elwood Reid discussed the reasons behind Bobby's departure. "He seized on a good opportunity," Reid said. "That doesn't mean these people can't come back, but we wanted to consolidate and build out Reenie's [Fiona Rere] office a bit more."

Reid discussed the situation further with US Magazine, and revealed that Bobby's status as a call-in expert may have been the reason why the show chose to remove the character. "I don't want the show to be phone-a-friend every week," he said. "I think that gets old, and Justin is always challenging me on that. He's like, 'Do we need to do this? Do I need to call Bobby all the time? Can I do this?'"

Bobby's removal from the show might have been because of narrative reasons, but like showrunner Elwood Reid noted, the show gave him a happy exit that offers him the opportunity to return. In "The Process," Reenie and Bobby's cousin and de facto replacement Randy (Chris Lee) are talking when Bobby sends his regards with a quick text. Randy then reveals that Bobby has started at a new startup, holding the highly lucrative position of an encryption specialist.

This indeed does remove him very effectively from the day-to-day proceedings of Colter's rewardist game, while still allowing the possibility of future appearances. Perhaps we'll know more when "Tracker" Season 4 – which moved the show's production to California, the land of start-ups — arrives. 

Of course, Bobby and Velma are hardly the first characters to abruptly leave the show. "Tracker" wrote off Robin Weigert's Teddi Bruin in the Season 2 premiere, leaving her spouse Velma dealing with the aftermath of their separation. Fortunately, "The Process" managed to give both Teddi and Velma a chance for a happy ending: That premiere episode revealed that Velma's departure from the show was related to them trying to fix their marriage.