Beauty & the Beast is an American television series, very loosely inspired by the 1987 CBS series of the same name, created by Sherri Cooper-Landsman and Jennifer Levin that premiered October 11, 2012, on The CW. Kristin Kreuk and Jay Ryan star in the title roles alongside Austin Basis, Nina Lisandrello, Nicole Gale Anderson, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Max Brown, Brian J. White, Amber Skye Noyes, and Michael Roark. On October 13, 2015, it was announced that the upcoming fourth season of Beauty & the Beast would be its last. The final season premiered on June 2, 2016, before concluding on September 15, 2016.
The CW 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 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 production on the thirteenth episode was completed on December 21, 2012. On November 9, 2012, a full season was ordered. On April 26, 2013, Beauty & the Beast was renewed for a second season. Filming of Beauty & the Beast was split between New York City, NY and Toronto from the second season. On May 8, 2014, Beauty & the Beast was renewed for a third season. Filming on season three commenced on August 29, 2014, and ended on February 12, 2015. On February 13, 2015, The CW renewed the series for a fourth season, before the third season began airing. On October 13, 2015, it was announced that the upcoming fourth season would be its last. Filming of the fourth and final season began on May 29, 2015 and ended on November 17, 2015.