After lying low for awhile to cope with his diagnosis and receive treatment, Patrick Swayze has jumped back into work with his plans to begin filming on his new TV series.

The A&E drama entitled The Beast, announced back in October of last year, is an FBI drama focusing on the relationship between Swayze’s veteran cop character Charles Barker, whose job is to teach his rookie partner (played by Travis Fimmel) his “eccentric” undercover ways.

“I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multi-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining, as well as a project this current and cutting edged,” Swayze reveals of his character.

Filming begins this summer on location in Chicago. The Dirty Dancing star expresses his excitement in filming in the windy city: “Chicago is an amazing, untapped city. I can’t wait to get to work on this.”

People reports that the show is expected to premiere in early 2009.