# The Beast (2009)

> A hardened FBI undercover veteran molds a rookie partner into a ruthless operative while internal affairs pressures the rookie to betray him.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/15231

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 43 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Vincent Angell, William L. Rotko
- Network: A&E
- Cast: Patrick Swayze, Travis Fimmel, Kevin J. O'Connor, Lindsay Pulsipher, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Dion Strowhorn Sr., Dale Caba, Laura Otto
- TMDB rating: 7.7/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1103968/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: gritty, tense, paranoid, morally weary

## Synopsis

The Beast (2009) is an American crime drama series created by Vincent Angell and William L. Rotko for A&E. Patrick Swayze stars as Charles Barker, an unorthodox but highly effective FBI veteran who takes a rookie named Ellis Dove (Travis Fimmel) under his wing. Barker trains his young partner in a hard-edged, psychologically driven style of undercover work, where a single moment of hesitation can cost a life. The engine of the show is the steady erosion of Dove as the job takes its toll, while an Internal Affairs team works to turn him into a double agent against his own partner. Kevin J. O'Connor co-stars as Harry Conrad among the bureau's principal figures. Each episode is built around covert operations, surveillance, and the moral compromises that accumulate in deep cover. The thirteen-episode run is a single serialized season, giving the story a tense, claustrophobic momentum. The tone is gritty, paranoid, and morally weary, with a grounded American realism and a sense of loyalty tested at every turn. Fans of The Shield and Hunted will find resonance in its portrait of law enforcement operatives who bend the rules to survive.

## Shows like The Beast

- [Intelligence (2006)](https://ember.film/tv/4966)
- [King & Maxwell (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/50546)
- [Gangland Undercover (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55339)
- [The Chicago Code (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/30146)
- [Wiseguy (1987)](https://ember.film/tv/6114)
- [Gang Related (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/45748)
- [Dark Blue (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/17391)
- [The Enemy Within (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/70061)
- [Rogue (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/42888)
- [Coyote (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/76868)

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