Beauty and the Beast Information

Beauty and the Beast is an American television series very loosely inspired by the 1987 CBS series of the same name. The series premiered on October 11, 2012. On November 9, 2012, The CW ordered a full 22-episode season of the series.

Plot

Catherine Chandler, a detective, witnessed her mother being shot the same night she is saved from her mother´s murderers by a supposed beast. Nine years later, a case leads her to discover that Vincent Keller, an ex soldier, killed in action during military service is actually alive. As Catherine gets to know him, she starts finding out more about her mother's murder and about who (and what) Vincent really is. At the same time a complicated relationship grows between them.

Cast and characters

Main

• Kristin Kreuk as Catherine Chandler - As a teenager, she witnessed her mother's murder and was rescued by a mysterious creature. Now currently a detective with the NYPD. She has feelings for Vincent.
• Jay Ryan as Vincent Keller - Previously a physician who later became a soldier that was later part of an experimental unit of soldiers who were subjects in a supersoldier program that was terminated. He is the only known survivor following the termination of members of his unit with extreme prejudice. He has feelings for Catherine.
• Max Brown as Dr. Evan Marks - Police morgue medical examiner and friends with Catherine.
• Austin Basis as J.T. Forbes - Vincent's childhood friend, and a teacher at a local university. He has been hiding Vincent from the men who have been hunting him.
• Nina Lisandrello as Tess Vargas - Catherine's partner. She's having a secret affair with her boss, Joe.
• Brian White as Joe Bishop - Catherine and Tess's commanding officer. Originally credited in a guest role, White is promoted to series regular in the second episode. He's cheating on his wife with Tess.

Recurring

• Nicole Anderson as Heather Chandler - Catherine's younger sister.
• Rob Stewart as Mr. Chandler - Catherine and Heather's dad. He recently married Brooke, a woman many years his junior.
• Rachel Skarsten as Brooke Chandler - Catherine and Heather's stepmother.
• Bridget Regan as Alex Salter - Former fiancé of Vincent Keller. She grew up with Vincent and his family and they grew closer--eventually becoming romantically involved. He ran out on her 10 years ago when he became a supersoldier and she recognized him when he snuck into the hospital to visit Catherine. Alex tried to rekindle her old relationship with Vincent, but realizes that he has feelings for Catherine.
• Sendhil Ramamurthy as Gabriel Lowen - An assistant district attorney who suspects that Catherine is hiding a secret.
• Edi Gathegi as Kyle, the man from Muirfield who Evan is secretly working with.
• Kearran Giovanni as Miranda Bishop

Production

The CW Television Network officially began developing the series in September 2011. The project was described as "a modern-day romantic love story with a procedural twist", unlike the original series which was a romantic drama with mystery and suspense elements. The show is the first project that new president Mark Pedowitz developed when he joined the network.

The network ordered a pilot of the series in January 2012. The pilot of the show was filmed in Toronto, Canada from March 22 to April 2, 2012. It was picked up by The CW on May 11, 2012, and was scheduled to premiere during the 2012"13 television season. Filming of the first season continued in Toronto from July 27 and episode 13 is scheduled to be completed on December 21, 2012.

Kristin Kreuk was cast as the lead role of Catherine Chandler (Beauty) on February 16, 2012, with Jay Ryan cast in the role of Vincent Keller (the Beast) on March 2, 2012. (The character was originally called Koslow, though in the original series, Vincent had no last name.)

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Originally aired		DVD release date
			Season premiere	Season finale	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
	1	22

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
Viewers = 2.78	ShortSummary = In autumn of 2003, 19-year-old Catherine Chandler's mother Vanessa was killed by two unknown hitmen; those men chased Catherine into the woods to kill her too, where she was saved by a mysterious humanoid beast. In 2012, Catherine, now a successful New York police detective, is still plagued by memories of that mysterious beast as well as her mother's unsolved murder. "Cat" and her detective partner Tess are investigating the murder of blonde fashion editor Ashley Webster in a hotel. During the search, she finds fingerprints of deceased doctor Vincent Keller on the corpse. She learns that Keller was only helping Webster, whose death was the result of a previous poisoning. Ashley's husband Alex had been cheating on her; one of his mistresses killed his wife. Cat runs into Vincent as he again saves her during an attack by hired killers in a subway tunnel.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 2.00	ShortSummary = When a ballerina is murdered, Cat investigates possible attackers with the help of Vincent. However, when Cat oversteps the line she finds herself in a tricky position with Muirfield. Meanwhile, Cat struggles to balance her work life and family when her little sister, Heather, starts feeling neglected.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.88	ShortSummary = Cat investigates the murder of a judge after Vincent tells her the person they arrested is innocent. Meanwhile, J.T. persuades Cat to come up with a way of communicating with Vincent without seeking him out and putting him in danger of exposure.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.70	ShortSummary = After Vincent revives a teenager, Cat discovers the boy has a history of bone fractures and investigates. Silverfox and his agents make Cat an offer: trade in Vincent in exchange for information about her mother's death.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.84	ShortSummary = It's Cat's birthday, and things get complicated when she has to cancel her plans with Vincent because her sister throws her a surprise party where she shares an unexpected moment with Evan. Vincent is caught on security camera preventing a robbery, leading his photo to appear in the newspapers, and Cat investigates the disappearance of a woman after her fiance puts their engagement notice in the paper.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.56	ShortSummary = Cat's soon to be step mother is in town and Cat tries to warm up to her only for her to discover her kissing another man. Meanwhile Cat and Tess are on a case trying to solve the murder of an artist, Nicholas, who's paintings were being used for a front for a high end escort service.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.52	ShortSummary = JT examines Vincent to determine the cause of his increasingly frequent blackouts, but when Vincent starts to beast out. Meanwhile, Evan and his new intern find a strange cut on the victim's ankle, which matches that of a female cadaver left on campus a year earlier.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.41	ShortSummary = Vincent recalls memories from his past, while Tess and Cat investigate an attempt on the life of a teenage pop star. JT and Cat try to find a remedy for Vincent's blackouts.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.59	ShortSummary = When Catherine's dad gets remarried, the bride-to-be and her bridesmaids try to find the daughter-of-the-groom a date for the wedding. Tess and Cat investigate a homicide involving a matchmaking company.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.79	ShortSummary = While Cat is in the hospital, she is forced to confront her feelings for Vincent. Vincent barely escapes being caught by his former fiancée, Alex (Bridget Regan) and must deal with the repercussions of his past. Meanwhile, J.T. gets a surprising visitor asking about old research he did on mutant DNA.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.72	ShortSummary = While Catherine is still recovering from the gunshot wound off-duty, Vincent is having a hard time figuring out memories from his old life with Alex and his feelings for Cat. J.T. tries to stop Evan recommending to the NYPD to catch the beast.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.48	ShortSummary = Vincent and Alex are on a romantic getaway in a cabin, when Catherine interrupts, despite her promise to avoid seeing Vincent. Evan discovers a bug in his office, which makes him start to believe J.T.'s earlier warnings.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.40	ShortSummary = Vincent tries to "woo" Catherine on Valentine's Day. Catherine relents, but eventually gives in only to have the moment spoiled by her sister.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.54	ShortSummary = After an awkward double date with Darius and Vincent, Heather gets suspicious of Vincent and enlists the help of Tess to find out more about "Vincent Zalanski". Joe's brother, Darius unintentionally gets Heather and himself in a whole lot of trouble. Vincent suffers the consequences trying to mitigate the situation.	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers = 1.43	ShortSummary = Catherine and Vincent collaborate to track down a witness from the crime scene that will clear Vincent's name. Vincent and Catherine grow closer.	LineColor = 840be1 }} </ref>	DirectedBy = Lee Rose	WrittenBy = Blair Singer	OriginalAirDate =	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }} </ref>	DirectedBy = Rick Rosenthal	WrittenBy = Emily Silver	OriginalAirDate =	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }} </ref>	DirectedBy =	WrittenBy =	OriginalAirDate =	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }}	Viewers =	ShortSummary =	LineColor = 840be1 }}

Reception

The series was given a 34 out of 100 score on Metacritic, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews from 19 critics. David Hinckley of the New York Daily News said the series was "such a natural it's downright devilish." Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times stated the "girl-power themes will probably play well to the network's core audience." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly gave the pilot of Beauty and the Beast a C- grade, stating that it lacks the same charm that the 1980s drama had, and that 'The Beast' is more of a Hulk rather than an actual beast. David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle called the series an "overheated, badly written, wretchedly acted and unconvincing drama, which makes mincemeat out of the traditional beauty and the beast fairy tale." Jon Stewart on The Daily Show dismissed it with a derisive snort, saying, "Without Ron Perlman, WTF? What's the point?"

Year	Result	Award	Category	Recipients
2013		People's Choice Award	Favorite New TV Drama	Beauty and the Beast

Broadcast

The show currently airs on Thursdays at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central following The Vampire Diaries. For those living in the United States, the show can be streamed on The CW's website; for those in Canada, the show can be streamed on Showcase's website.

Country	Network(s)	Series premiere	Timeslot
	yesActionHD	March 3, 2013	Sundays 10:00pm
	Showcase	October 11, 2012	Thursday 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT
	Watch	January 16, 2013	Wednesday 9.00pm GMT
	TVSéries	October 29, 2012	Monday 9:00pm GMT
	Sjuan	November 1, 2012	Thursday 10:00pm GMT+1
	M6	2013	TBA
	Universal Channel (Brazil)	November 12, 2012	Monday 10:00pm
	FOX	December 6, 2012	Thursdays 21:50
	Universal Channel (Mexico)	November 14, 2012	Wednesday 9:00pm
	ETC	October 11, 2012	Tuesdays 9:00pm
	Universal Channel (Argentina)	November 14, 2012	Wednesday 9:00pm
	FOX	January 15, 2013	Tuesdays 9:30pm
	FOX	January 15, 2013	Tuesdays 9:30pm
	PRIME	January 18, 2013	Friday 9:30pm
	Fox Life	November 30, 2012	Fridays 8:15pm
	TV2 Bliss	February 24, 2013	Sundays 9:00pm
	NET5	February 27, 2013	Wednesdays 8:30pm