NEW YORK – Heading into its home stretch, A&E’s drama “The Beast” will resolve several questions that have dogged freewheeling FBI agent Charles Barker all season.

But other questions loom — much larger questions about the series and its ailing star, Patrick Swayze.

The future of “The Beast” and Swayze’s continued participation remain unclear, according to A&E President Bob DeBitetto, who’s waiting to see how the season’s final two episodes score. Airing at 10 p.m. EDT Thursdays, the series concludes its season April 23.