Patrick Swayze's A&E Series Cancelled

The star's gritty drama, The Beast, will not be returning, a source tells PEOPLE

Published on June 4, 2009 04:30 PM

Patrick Swayze’s new A&E series, The Beast, has been cancelled after 13 episodes, according to a source closely involved with the show’s production.

“There’s no way it was going to happen without Patrick,” says the source.

Swayze shot all 13 episodes of the show last summer in Chicago during his treatment for pancreatic cancer. “He had challenges while he was working because he was still doing chemo and it wasn’t always easy but in spite of all of that, he’d suit up and show up,” his wife Lisa told PEOPLE. “He was always there.”

Swayze, who was unable to promote the series after being hospitalized for pneumonia, was lauded by his costars for his consummate professionalism and was excited to be working on the show.

“I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multi-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining,” he said at the time.

A rep for A&E tells PEOPLE “no decision has been made” regarding the future of the show. A rep for Swayze had no comment. The last episode of The Beast aired April 23.

Variety first reported that the series had been cancelled.