The Beast

• Will you miss Patrick Swayze's A&E series, The Beast? — Popwatch
• Pattinson vs. Franco vs. Marsden vs. Leto: Who could play Jeff Buckley onscreen? — Cinematical
• The handsome Sendhil Ramamurthy — Mohinder Suresh from Heroes — will guest star on Psych. Cute! — E! Online's Watch With Kristin
• A viewer of an early Bruno screening writes that the movie is "predictably hilarious" and "even more shocking and envelope pushing than Borat and just as funny." — FilmExperience
• This list of shows that should have their own video games includes Supernatural, Myth Busters, Fringe, and Burn Notice, to name a few. — TV Squad
• Check out the new video for Sonic Youth's "Sacred Trickster." — Stereogum
• Why did these "shoulda-been" stars never become household names? — HitFix
• Kristen Stewart is getting some advice on playing Joan Jett from Joan Jett herself. — PopSugar

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I don't know if it's possible to watch Patrick Swayze in The Beast and separate his performance from what we know about his personal drama. Swayze has been simultaneously battling pancreatic cancer and filming the show, which premieres tonight at 10 p.m. on A&E.

That makes it all the more impressive that he's being called the best thing about The Beast, delivering a confident performance as an undercover FBI agent who takes a new protege under his wing. Swayze's character, Charles Barker, is the latest in a string of unorthodox but brilliant detectives we've seen on TV over the years, specializing in high-intensity undercover work. As The Beast begins, Charles attempts to train his rookie partner, Ellis Dove, (Travis Fimmel), even as the FBI's higher-ups are trying to convince Dove to help in an internal investigation of Charles's methods.

At TCA last week, the producers of The Beast said Swayze's health hasn't had much of an impact on their plans for the show, which was cast before Swayze was diagnosed; if the show is picked up for a second season, it could be in production as soon as March. To check out some clips of the show and the actors talking about their roles, read more

Just months after receiving a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze has been cleared to go back to work. The actor's drama pilot, The Beast, has just been picked up by A&E, and he'll resume work on the show this Summer in Chicago.

Swayze shot the pilot back in January, and according to the New York Times, A&E was a day away from announcing they were going forward with the show when Swayze called the network to deliver the news of his diagnosis. Since then, he's been undergoing treatment, and A&E representatives said they're confident he'll be able to work a full schedule.

In The Beast, Swayze plays "an unorthodox but effective FBI veteran who trains a new partner (Travis Fimmel) in his hard-edged and psychologically clever style of agenting while being pursued by a secret Internal Affairs team." The series is expected to appear in early 2009.

The initial reports about Swayze's health sounded dire, so it's great to hear that he's back to work! In a statement, Swayze simply said "I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this mutilayered, unpredictable and downright entertaining as well as a project this current and cutting-edged."

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