''The Beat'' is an American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series produced by

Viacom Productions Viacom Productions (formerly Viacom Enterprises) was a television production arm of Viacom. Viacom Enterprises was also a movie producer, and a sports producer. The division was active from 1971 until 2004, when the company was folded into Par ...

. It premiered on

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

on March 21, 2000, and ended after only six episodes a month later on April 25. Seven additional episodes were produced although they were never broadcast.

Premise

The series focuses on the day-to-day experiences of two uniformed

police officers A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

, Mike Dorrigan and Zane Marinelli, of the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

and their attempts to deal with day-to-day life with their girlfriends Elizabeth and Beatrice, and work in New York City.

Cast

Main

Derek Cecil Derek Cecil (born January 5, 1973) is an American actor. He played the role of Seth Grayson on the Netflix series '' House of Cards'', starred in the short-lived series '' Push, Nevada'' and '' The Beat'', and made several appearances in the seri ...

as Mike Dorigan *

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...

as Zane Marinelli *

Heather Burns Heather Burns is an American actress. She is known for playing the best friend role in a string of successful romantic comedies such as ''You've Got Mail'' (1998), '' Miss Congeniality'' (2000), ''Two Weeks Notice'' (2002), and ''Bewitched'' (200 ...

as Beatrice Felsen *

Poppy Montgomery Poppy Montgomery (born Poppy Petal Emma Elizabeth Deveraux Donahue; June 19, 1972) is an Australian-American actress. She played FBI agent Samantha Spade on the CBS mystery drama ''Without a Trace'' and Detective Carrie Wells on the CBS/ A&E p ...

as Elizabeth Waclawek *

Tom Noonan Tom Noonan (born April 12, 1951) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Francis Dollarhyde in '' Manhunter'' (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in ''The Monster Squad'' (1987), Cain in '' RoboCop 2'' (1990), ...

as Howard Schmidt *

Lea DeLaria Lea DeLaria (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actress, and jazz singer. She portrayed List of Orange Is the New Black characters#Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Carrie "Big Boo" Black on the Netflix original series ''Orange Is the New Black'' ...

as Kathy Speck

Recurring

Jeffrey Donovan Jeffrey Donovan (born May 11, 1968) is an American actor. He has played Michael Westen in the television series '' Burn Notice'', and appeared in films such as '' Hitch'', '' Believe in Me'', ''Changeling'', and '' Come Early Morning''. He play ...

as Brad Ulrich *

Lee Tergesen Lee Allen Tergesen (; born July 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Chett Donnelly on USA Network's '' Weird Science'' (1994–1998), Tobias Beecher on HBO's '' Oz'' (1997–2003), Peter McMillan on the second seas ...

as Steve Dorigan *

David Zayas David Zayas (born August 15, 1962) is a Puerto Rican actor. He is best known for his roles as Angel Batista on the Showtime series ''Dexter'' and Enrique Morales on the HBO prison drama series '' Oz''. Early life Zayas was born in Ponce, Pu ...

as Rei Morales

Production

The series was produced by many people who worked on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' including

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Levinson won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Rain Man'' (1988). His other best-known works are ''Diner'' (1982), '' The Natural'' (1984 ...

Tom Fontana Tom Fontana (born September 12, 1951) is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and created HBO's ''Oz.'' Early life and education Fontana was born on the west si ...

Anya Epstein Anya, Ania or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most East European countries and unisex in several African countries. Origins and variant forms * Anya (Аня) is a Russian language, Russian diminutive of Anna (name), Anna. * An ...

Eric Overmyer Eric Ellis Overmyer (born September 25, 1951) is an American writer and producer. He has written and/or produced numerous TV shows, including '' St. Elsewhere'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''Law & Order'', ''The Wire'', ''New Amsterdam'', ...

Irene Burns Irene Burns is an American television producer who has worked on shows such as ''30 Rock'' and '' Oz''. She has been nominated for two Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical mer ...

and

Jim Finnerty Jim Finnerty is an American television producer. He worked on all seven seasons of the NBC police drama '' Homicide: Life on the Street''. He often works with ''Homicide'' executive producer Tom Fontana. He also worked on HBO's ''Oz''. Biography Fi ...

. Many of the producers also collaborated on '' Oz'' including Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana, Irene Burns and Jim Finnerty. The series is also notable as being one of the many series in which the character Det. John Munch, played by

Richard Belzer Richard Jay Belzer (August 4, 1944 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, and author. He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed for 23 years in the NBC ...

, has appeared. The others include: '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Law & Order: Trial by Jury'', ''

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

'', and ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

''.

Episodes

References

External links

* * 2000s American crime drama television series 2000s American police procedural television series 2000 American television series debuts 2000 American television series endings American English-language television shows Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in New York City UPN television dramas {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub