Royal Pains

For the book with a similar name, see The Royal Pain.

Royal Pains
Royal Pains intertitle
Genre	Medical comedy-drama
Created by	Andrew Lenchewski John P. Rogers
Starring	Mark Feuerstein Paulo Costanzo Jill Flint Reshma Shetty
Opening theme	"Independence", performed by The Blue Van
Composer	James S. Levine
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Paul Frank Rich Frank Jeff Kwatinetz Michael Rauch (all; entire run to date) Andrew Lenchewski (season 2-present)
Production locations	Long Island, New York
Camera setup	Film; Single-camera
Running time	approx. 42 minutes
Production companies	34 Films Prospect Park Entertainment Universal Cable Productions
Original release
Network	USA Network
Release	July 4, 2009 (2009-07-04) – present

Royal Pains is a USA cable network television series starring Mark Feuerstein about a young E.R. doctor who, after being wrongly blamed for an important patient's death, moves to the Hamptons and becomes a reluctant "doctor for hire" to the rich and famous. When the administrator of the local hospital asks him to treat the town's less fortunate, he finds himself walking the line between doing well for himself and doing good for others. The series is based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies.

The pilot was filmed on location on Long Island, New York in the spring and fall of 2008. The Hollywood Reporter reported on January 5 that the series was picked up for a 12-episode season. The theme song is "Independence" by the Danish band The Blue Van. On July 28, 2009, it was renewed for a second season with 16 episodes beginning in Summer 2010. The pilot was directed by Jace Alexander, who also filmed the pilot of Burn Notice, another USA show, which airs in the hour before Royal Pains. Andrew Lenchewski wrote the pilot and Rich and Paul Frank executive produced the project, with Lenchewski co-executive producing and John P. Rogers producing.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Royal Pains characters

• Henry "Hank" Lawson (Mark Feuerstein): The protagonist. Formerly a successful New York emergency room doctor, he was dismissed from his job after a wealthy hospital benefactor died in his care. When he saves someone's life during a trip to the Hamptons, he accepts an offer from a German nobleman to remain as a doctor in the resort community. He often serves wealthy clientele, but also others in need of care and often without the means to pay. According to the episode "Keeping the Faith," he and his brother are Jewish.
• Evan R. Lawson (Paulo Costanzo): Hank's younger brother. He is an accountant and self-appointed CFO of HankMed. He is usually involved in subplots where he does something stupid or embarrassing, often in attempt to promote the HankMed business. He drives a Tesla Roadster given to him by a patient, until he sells it at the beginning of season 2 after having all the assets of HankMed stolen by his estranged father.
• Jill Casey (Jill Flint): Hank's romantic interest and an administrator at the local hospital. She repeatedly flirts with Hank, though their relationship becomes awkward, especially after her ex-husband, Charlie, returned briefly.
• Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty): Hank's Physician Assistant. She joins the team early and is invaluable to Hank. However, she initially has to keep her medical career a secret from her parents. Against her desires, her parents have also forced her into an arranged betrothal to a childhood friend.

Episodes

Main article: List of Royal Pains episodes

Ratings

Season	Episodes	Original Airing			Viewers (in millions)
		Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season
1	12	June 4, 2009	August 27, 2009	2009	5.97
2	18	June 3, 2010	TBA	2010

Location

Principal production of the show's pilot occurred in the Hamptons. However, other locations throughout Long Island were used, with Oheka Castle being the most prominent. Although actually located 60 miles to the west, in Huntington, Oheka served as the fictional Hamptons home of Boris, the German nobleman who offers his guest house to Hank and Evan. In later episodes, exterior and aerial shots of Oheka are used to introduce scenes in the guest house.

In one episode, a Long Beach drive-thru convenience store, Dairy Barn was used as a fictional hot dog stand; a sign can be seen in the opening of that scene. Also, several scenes were shot on the bay side of Point Lookout. Other places used as fictional Hamptons locations include Northport Village in the Town of Huntington, Old Westbury Gardens, Freeport's Nautical Mile, Caumsett State Historic Park and Oyster Bay Town Hall, which was transformed into the entrance of the Hamptons Heritage Hospital emergency room. Catalina Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, New York was transformed for the pilot episode into the fictional Hampt Inn, the hotel Hank and Evan stayed in upon their arrival in the Hamptons.

Two episodes of the second season take place in Cuba, but were filmed in Puerto Rico.

Reception

Royal Pains has become one of the highest rated shows on cable. The series premiere was watched by 5.57 million viewers, the highest series premiere for the USA Network since Psych in 2006. With episodes two and three watched by 5.59 million viewers and 6.5 million, respectively, it was the first show in five years to have viewership increase from week two to week three.

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the first season of Royal Pains in Region 1 on May 25, 2010 and will release it in Region 4 on August 25, 2010. Episodes are also available on iTunes.

Title	Region 1	Region 4	Bonus Features
Season One	May 25, 2010	August 25, 2010	Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Commentary, Paulo's Video Blogs, Dr. Irv Danesh: The Real Doctor of Royal Pains, High Top Fade Out (Psych, episode 4.07)

International distribution

International market	Broadcaster	Season premiere
Italy	Joi	1	September 10, 2009 (2009-09-10)
Spain	Paramount Comedy	1	October 14, 2009 (2009-10-14)
Poland	TVP 1	1	January 6, 2010 (2010-01-06)
Australia	Channel Seven	1	February 1, 2010 (2010-02-01)
Brazil	Sony Entertainment Television	1	February 21, 2010 (2010-02-21)
Mexico	Sony Entertainment Television	1	February 21, 2010 (2010-02-21)
Greece	Star Channel	1	March 13, 2010 (2010-03-13)
Romania	Universal Channel	1	May 3, 2010 (2010-05-03)
United Kingdom	Hallmark Channel (UK)	1	May 9, 2010 (2010-05-09)
Philippines	2nd Avenue	1	May 11, 2010 (2010-05-11)
Israel	Yes Stars Drama	1	June 8, 2010 (2010-06-08)
Japan	WOWOW	1	July 3, 2010 (2010-07-03)
Bulgaria	Nova Television	1	July 17, 2010 (2010-07-17)
France	Canal+	1	July 18, 2010 (2010-07-18)
Norway	Viasat 4	1	July 19, 2010 (2010-07-19)

Legal issues

On July 6, 2010, Hayden Christensen, the actor best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga, and his older brother, filed a lawsuit against the USA Network in a Manhattan Federal Court. In the suit, the brothers claimed to have pitched an idea for a new television series to the USA Network, called "Housecall", which involved a concierge doctor who made house calls to the rich and famous. The two brothers also claimed that a USA Network executive told them "that, prior to learning about 'Housecall,' he was unaware of concierge doctors and that he thought it was a fascinating idea." A USA Network spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

External links

• Official website
• Royal Pains at IMDb