Honestly, the CW era was a weird time for television. We were right in the middle of the "gritty reboot" craze, and then along came Beauty and the Beast TV season 1 in late 2012. It wasn't the Disney fairytale. It wasn't even quite the 1980s Ron Perlman cult classic, though it certainly tried to tip its hat to those roots. It was something darker, messier, and—if we're being real—a lot more addictive than the critics gave it credit for at the time.
You’ve got Kristin Kreuk, fresh off her Smallville fame, playing Catherine Chandler. She’s a tough-as-nails homicide detective who witnessed her mother's murder years prior. She was supposed to die too. But something saved her. Something... not entirely human.
Fast forward a decade, and she finds him. Vincent Keller. Jay Ryan played him with this constant, simmering intensity that made the "beast" part of the title feel grounded in actual trauma rather than just CGI fur. He wasn't a cursed prince in a castle. He was a former soldier, a victim of a government experiment gone horribly wrong, living in the shadows of New York City.
The Chemistry That Saved the Show
Critics were brutal. They called it melodramatic. They called it cheesy.
But fans? The "Beasties"? They didn't care.
The core of Beauty and the Beast TV season 1 worked because the chemistry between Kreuk and Ryan was undeniable. It’s that classic procedural structure—case of the week, badge and gun, chasing leads—but it's constantly interrupted by this high-stakes, "we can't be together but we have to be" romance.
It’s easy to forget how much the show leaned into the procedural aspect early on. Catherine’s partner, Tess Vargas (played by Nina Lisandrello), was the perfect grounded foil to Catherine’s increasingly chaotic secret life. Tess was the voice of reason. She was the one reminding Cat that hanging out with a "dead" super-soldier who lives in a warehouse probably wouldn't end well for her career or her pulse.
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Then there’s J.T. Forbes. Austin Basis basically carried the exposition on his back as Vincent’s childhood friend and protector. He was the one trying to find a "cure" or at least a way to keep Vincent's DNA from unraveling. Without J.T., the show would have been far too gloomy. He provided the necessary levity when the plot got heavy with Muirfield conspiracies.
What People Get Wrong About the Muirfield Plot
Everyone remembers the romance, but the actual engine of the first season was Muirfield.
This wasn't just a shadow organization. It was a terrifying look at military overreach. They weren't trying to make monsters; they were trying to make the perfect soldier by manipulating human DNA. When Vincent "beats out," it’s a failure of their science.
The stakes in Beauty and the Beast TV season 1 weren't just about Catherine and Vincent getting caught by the cops. It was about them being hunted by a multi-billion dollar entity that wanted to erase its mistakes. The show actually handled the "cat and mouse" game quite well in those first twenty-two episodes. You felt the walls closing in on Vincent's loft. Every time Cat visited him, she was potentially leading the wolves to his door.
It’s interesting to look back at the episode "Saturn Returns." It’s where the show really started to pivot from a simple mystery to a complex web of personal betrayals. We start seeing that Catherine’s own father might be deeper into the mess than she ever imagined.
The Evolution of the "Beast"
One of the most controversial choices the producers made was the "look" of the beast.
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In the 80s version, it was full-on prosthetic makeup. In the 2012 version, it was more of a "Hulk-lite" transformation—blackened veins, shifting eyes, and a scar that looked like a jagged lightning bolt across Jay Ryan’s face.
Some people hated it.
They wanted a literal beast. But the choice to keep Vincent looking mostly human was a narrative necessity. It made the moments where he lost control feel more like a psychological breakdown than a monster movie. It allowed the audience to see the pain in his eyes while he was doing something horrific. It made him a tragic figure rather than a predator.
Why Season 1 Stands Alone
There’s a specific vibe to the first season that the later seasons struggled to replicate.
It was moody.
It was rainy.
It felt like New York at 3:00 AM.
As the series progressed, it got a bit more "superhero" and a bit more "global conspiracy." But Beauty and the Beast TV season 1 was intimate. It was about two broken people finding each other in a city of millions. It dealt with grief—Catherine’s grief over her mother, Vincent’s grief over his lost life and his brothers who died in the experiments.
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The mid-season finale, "Bridesmaid Up!," is a perfect example of the show's DNA. You have the glamour of a New York wedding contrasted with a brutal showdown in the shadows. It’s that duality that kept the audience coming back. You wanted the "happily ever after," but you knew the world they lived in wouldn't allow it.
Technical Flaws and Why They Didn't Matter
Was the dialogue always perfect? No. Sometimes the police work was a bit convenient. Sometimes the way Vincent managed to stay hidden in a high-tech city felt like a stretch of the imagination.
But the show had heart.
It understood the "Beauty and the Beast" archetype better than many modern adaptations. It wasn't about the beauty changing the beast. It was about the beauty accepting the beast as he was, and the beast trying to protect the beauty from his own nature.
The season 1 finale, "Never Turn Back," was a genuine gut-punch. After twenty-one episodes of building this fragile life together, Muirfield finally makes their move. The helicopter scene, the separation, the uncertainty—it was a masterclass in how to write a cliffhanger that leaves a fanbase screaming for more.
How to Revisit the Series Today
If you’re looking to dive back into the world of Catherine and Vincent, or if you're a first-timer wondering if it's worth the binge, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the Pilot and "Proceed with Caution" Back-to-Back: The pilot sets the stage, but the second episode really defines the rules of their relationship.
- Pay Attention to the Score: The music in season 1 was surprisingly curated, featuring a lot of indie-pop and atmospheric tracks that heightened the romantic tension.
- Track the Muirfield Clues: If you watch closely, the show drops hints about Catherine's mother’s true involvement as early as episode four.
- Ignore the Later Seasonal Shifts: Treat the first season as a self-contained noir romance if you want the most cohesive story arc.
Beauty and the Beast TV season 1 might not have been a critical darling, but it remains a fascinating relic of early 2010s television that prioritized emotional stakes over perfection. It’s a story about the monsters we carry inside us and the people who aren’t afraid to look us in the eye anyway.
The best way to experience it now is to find it on streaming—usually available on CW Seed or various VOD platforms—and clear a weekend. Just be prepared for the fact that once you start the Muirfield rabbit hole, it's very hard to climb back out. Grab some popcorn, lean into the melodrama, and let the "Beastie" inside you appreciate the chemistry that made this show a multi-season survivor against all odds.