As someone who has spent countless hours immersed in the world of these fictional detectives, I must say that each one of them is as unique as a fingerprint. Bosch, with his love for jazz and dog-rescuing tendencies, seems to have a softer side hidden beneath his tough exterior. Reacher, on the other hand, is a wandering enigma, always moving from place to place, never settling down. He’s like a modern-day nomad, living life on his own terms.


Modern television, including Broadcast TV and Amazon Prime, is flooded with shows that seem tailored for your father. These series often have single-word titles such as Longmire, Goliath, or Yellowstone, and they all feature rugged men who solve mysteries, protect their territories, or deal with mysteries in their territories, or protect the mysteries themselves. The latest addition to this group is CBS’s Tracker, focusing on a character who, you might have guessed, tracks individuals. Notably, Justin Hartley’s new venture following This Is Us isn’t the only one; there’s a wave of such shows like Bosch, Reacher, and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. These series revolve around tough men in challenging circumstances, taking on adversaries and romancing women. However, Tracker and Reacher share a similar marketing approach: Both feature a conventionally attractive white man in a gray T-shirt.

I apologize for any confusion, gentlemen with your fitted charcoal-gray t-shirts, as it’s quite challenging to distinguish between these series. In fact, it’s so tricky that we created a quiz to help clarify things!

The show is named after the lead character.

CORRECT. Justin Hartley does not play a character named Tracker on Tracker, and that’s bullshit.

INCORRECT. Justin Hartley does not play a character named Tracker on Tracker, and that’s bullshit.

The deuteragonist/foil of the first season went to Harvard.

CORRECT. Tracker’s Reenie is a self-professed Harvard bitch and says so within the first 20 seconds of her character being introduced. Reacher’s Detective Finlay also went to Harvard but doesn’t talk about it. Very unrealistic.

INCORRECT. This one is both. Tracker’s Reenie is a self-professed Harvard bitch and says so within the first 20 seconds of her character being introduced. Reacher’s Detective Finlay also went to Harvard but doesn’t talk about it. Very unrealistic.

The protagonist has a complicated relationship with one of his last surviving family members: his brother, the Lincoln Lawyer.

CORRECT. That’s Bosch. Tracker’s Colter Shaw has a complicated relationship with one of his last surviving family members: his brother, who may have killed his father. Reacher has a complicated relationship with one of his last surviving family members: his brother, whose death instigates the show’s plot.

INCORRECT. Trick question! That’s Bosch. Tracker’s Colter Shaw has a complicated relationship with one of his last surviving family members: his brother, who may have killed his father. Reacher has a complicated relationship with one of his last surviving family members: his brother, whose death instigates the show’s plot.

The protagonist’s elder brother, who let him down in childhood, is named Russell.

CORRECT. But that’s also true of Temperance Brennan in Bones, FWIW.

INCORRECT. This is Tracker. But it’s also true of Temperance Brennan in Bones, FWIW.

Inexplicably, there is a female character named after the infamously corrupt 19th-century New York senator Roscoe Conkling.

CORRECT. You should know Bosch has characters named J. Edgar (like Hoover), Rick O’Shea (ricochet), and Irvin Irving.

INCORRECT. That’s Reacher. But you should know Bosch has characters named J. Edgar (like Hoover), Rick O’Shea (ricochet), and Irvin Irving.

The lead character is itinerant, traveling from town to town in an Airstream trailer hauled by his (obviously spon-con) truck.

CORRECT. Reacher is also itinerant, but he takes the bus.

INCORRECT. This is Tracker. Reacher is also itinerant, but he takes the bus.

The lead’s tracking skills were imparted by a traumatic brain injury sustained while serving in the military in Iraq.

CORRECT. You’d think Tracker, but this is actually the Bones spinoff, The Finder. Colter’s tracking skills were imparted by a traumatic childhood.

INCORRECT. This is actually the Bones spinoff, The Finder. Colter’s tracking skills were imparted by a traumatic childhood.

The show’s first season is filmed in that one Georgia town seen in Stranger Things, The Vampire Diaries, Doom Patrol, and Stan Against Evil. 

CORRECT.

INCORRECT. This is Reacher.

The lead character loves the blues.

CORRECT. Bosch loves jazz, and Tracker has no discernible preferences, musical or otherwise.

INCORRECT. This is Reacher. Bosch loves jazz, and Tracker has no discernible preferences, musical or otherwise.

The lead character is always saying the percentage odds of survival, like C-3PO in The Empire Strikes Back.

CORRECT.

INCORRECT. This is Tracker.

While working a case, the protagonist rescues a dog and names him Coltrane.

CORRECT. Bosch again. Remember, Bosch 👏 Loves 👏 Jazz 👏. Reacher also rescues a dog, but, being a self-described hobo, doesn’t keep it. Harvard boy does — and names the dog Jack (after Reacher).

INCORRECT. This is Bosch again. Remember, Bosch 👏 Loves 👏 Jazz 👏. Reacher also rescues a dog, but, being a self-described hobo, doesn’t keep it. Harvard boy does — and names the dog Jack (after Reacher).

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2024-09-26 17:53