Royal Pains

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

Royal Pains
File:Royal Pains Title.JPG
Genre	Medical drama Comedy-drama
Created by	Andrew Lenchewski John P. Rogers
Starring	Mark Feuerstein Paulo Costanzo Jill Flint Reshma Shetty Brooke D'Orsay Campbell Scott Ben Shenkman
Opening theme	"Independence" performed by The Blue Van
Composer(s)	James S. Levine
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	98 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Carol Flint Constance M. Burge Paul Frank Rich Frank Jeff Kwatinetz Michael Rauch Andrew Lenchewski
Production location(s)	Long Island, New York
Camera setup	Film; Single-camera
Running time	42 minutes
Production company(s)	34 Films Prospect Park Universal Cable Productions Open 4 Business Productions
Distributor	NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	USA Network
Picture format	HDTV 1080i30 NTSC (480i)
Audio format	Surround
Original release	June 4, 2009 (2009-06-04) – present
External links
Website

Royal Pains is an American television drama series that premiered on the USA Network on June 4, 2009. The series is based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The cast of the show includes Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint, Reshma Shetty, Brooke D'Orsay, Ben Shenkman, and Campbell Scott.

In November 2014, the network renewed the series for seasons 7 and 8, with each season consisting of eight episodes. The seventh season premiered on June 2, 2015. The eighth season started airing on May 18, 2016, and will be the final season of the show.

Series synopsis

The series follows Hank Lawson, a young emergency room 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.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Royal Pains characters

Main characters

• Mark Feuerstein as Dr. Henry "Hank" Lawson, a formerly successful New York E.R. doctor, but 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 Boris, a German nobleman, to remain as a "concierge doctor" in the resort community. He usually attends to 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.
• Paulo Costanzo as Evan Roth Lawson, Hank's younger brother. He is an accountant and self-appointed CFO of HankMed. Evan's job is to promote the HankMed business, at times using strategies that Hank finds inappropriate or too commercial. At the end of season 4, he gets married to Paige, the adopted daughter of a wealthy, conservative military man who is running for the United States Congress. When Boris buys Hampton Heritage in Season 7, he becomes a member of the board and the hospital's Acting Administrator.
• Jill Flint as Jill Casey (seasons 1–4), Hank's on again/off again girlfriend and an administrator at Hamptons Heritage, the local hospital. Jill works with Hank to open a small clinic while running the local community hospital. In the fourth season, she leaves the Hamptons to do relief work in Africa.
• Reshma Shetty as Divya Katdare, Hank's physician assistant. She joins the team early and is invaluable to Hank. She initially has to keep her medical career a secret from her parents. Forced by her parents into an arranged betrothal to a childhood friend, she has finally broken free of their control and is living on her own. As of season 6, Divya has a daughter named Sashi, but is involved in a bitter custody dispute with Sashi's father Rafa.
• Brooke D'Orsay as Paige Lawson (season 4–present, recurring previously), Evan's wife. Paige is the daughter of a wealthy, conservative former military officer with political aspirations who does not think Evan is good enough for his daughter. Paige and Evan meet when she hires him to play her pretend boyfriend, but their pretend relationship soon blossoms into a real one. In the season 4 episode "Who's Your Daddy?", she is revealed to be adopted, and in the season 4 finale/special "Off-Season Greetings", she and Evan marry.
• Campbell Scott as Boris Kuester von Jurgens-Ratenicz (recurring, seasons 1–3, 6-present; regular, seasons 4-5), a wealthy and titled German businessman who offers Hank and Evan his guest house, and is Hank's first client. Boris has a genetic disease he is determined will die with him, and which he fights with equal determination, often by seeking rare or risky treatments. Used to getting what he wants, Boris has a rigid code of conduct, which can at times put him at odds with Hank. In season 3 he has a son, Carlos with his wife Marissa. In Season 6, he buys Hampton Heritage, stating that he intends to settle permanently in the Hamptons, and convinces Hank Evan, Divya and Jeremiah to become members of the hospital's Board of Directors but has a secret agenda.
• Ben Shenkman as Dr. Jeremiah Sacani (season 5–present, season 4 recurring), was hired by Evan to be Hank's replacement during Evan and Hank's temporary halt to their business partnership; Sacani stayed on when Hank and Evan made peace. He is an accomplished researcher and excellent at his work, although he has an awkward bedside manner because of his limited social skills. Sacani is an heir to a vast fortune. He and Divya are best friends and Divya and Sashi move into his house in season 6, but their friendship is almost broken when Divya meddles in and unintentionally almost destroys Jeremiah's relationship with a woman named Viviana. In season 7, Jeremiah is conned out of a great deal of money from a former fellow college classmate.

Recurring characters

• Henry Winkler as Eddie R. Lawson, Hank and Evan's loving, ne'er-do-well father who left the boys when they were young. Accused of embezzlement, Eddie served a short term in prison and is now on parole, a best-selling author and has been rebuilding his relationship with his sons and his new-found daughter Emma.
• Anastasia Griffith as Dr. Emily Peck, a self-assured rival doctor who works with (and becomes briefly involved with) Hank. Emily is hired to substitute for Hank while he makes an extended visit to Cuba with Boris, and soon comes into conflict with Divya because of her confidence and her detached approach to her patients.
• Tom Cavanagh as Jack O'Malley, a pro golfer who was featured in the season-2 episode "Mulligan" and later became a recurring character in season 3, as his friendship with Hank became more pronounced. Jack died in the season-3 episode "Hank and the Deep Blue Sea" which caused Hank to develop emotional trauma.
• Kyle Howard as Dr. Paul Van Dyke (nicknamed "V.D."), a staff doctor at Hampton's Heritage; Divya first meets him while moonlighting at the hospital. After a brief flirtation between Divya and him, Evan hires him as one of Hank's replacements during the temporary halt to the business partnership between Hank and Evan. Van Dyke's personality is very energetic and impulsive, which has gotten him into awkward situations professionally and socially. Van Dyke would later join the new HankMed. He had a pet rabbit of which he was very fond. He also has a slightly older fraternal twin brother named Daniel (nicknamed "D.V.D.").
• Anna George as Rubina Katdare, Divya's reserved and loyal mother. She follows the traditions of a traditional Indian housewife, a sympathetic ear to Divya's frustrations and a bridge to Divya's father. When Divya's father disowns her, Rubina secretly keeps a relationship with Divya. She is eventually inspired by Divya to follow her heart, which causes her to leave her husband and travel the world.
• Ajay Mehta as Devesh Katdare, Divya's strict and straight-laced father. He practically disowns Divya when she cancels her wedding with Raj (Rupak Ginn), but they reconcile once she becomes his nurse after he suffers a heart attack.

Episodes

Main article: List of Royal Pains episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
	1	12	June 4, 2009 (2009-06-04)	August 27, 2009 (2009-08-27)
	2	18	June 3, 2010 (2010-06-03)	February 24, 2011 (2011-02-24)
	3	16	June 29, 2011 (2011-06-29)	February 22, 2012 (2012-02-22)
	4	16	June 6, 2012 (2012-06-06)	December 16, 2012 (2012-12-16)
	5	13	June 12, 2013 (2013-06-12)	September 11, 2013 (2013-09-11)
	6	13	June 10, 2014 (2014-06-10)	September 2, 2014 (2014-09-02)
	7	8	June 2, 2015 (2015-06-02)	July 21, 2015 (2015-07-21)
	8	8	May 18, 2016 (2016-05-18)	TBA

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 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-through 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, which served as the exterior and parking lot of Hampton Heritage Hospital (in one scene, Freeport's charter coat can be seen across the bay) 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. Downtown Locust Valley, another haunt of the wealthy on Long Island's Gold Coast, plays downtown East Hampton in at least one episode (where Evan and Paige go shopping), with interior shots in a store as well as street scenes.

For several beach scenes, West Neck Beach (Huntington) was used and a food shopping scene was filmed in Southdown Market in Huntington. Huntington Hospital is now used for Hamptons Heritage Hospital.

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

Development and production

The pilot was filmed on location on Long Island, New York in the spring and fall of 2008. The pilot was directed by Jace Alexander, who also filmed the pilot of Burn Notice, another USA Network show, which aired 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. The series was then picked up for a 12-episode season. On February 24, 2011, the show completed its second season. The show was renewed for a sixth season Season 6 was filmed in New York and premiered on June 10, 2014.

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Royal Pains

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
2012	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a TV Series - Guest Starring Young Actress 14-16	Sami Gayle	Nominated
2012	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Cable TV Comedy	Royal Pains	Nominated
2013	ASCAP Awards	Top Television Series	Royal Pains	Won
2016	GLAAD Awards	Outstanding Individual Episode	Royal Pains	Won

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 and 6.5 million viewers, respectively, it was the first show in five years to have viewership increase from week two to week three.

Ratings

Season	Timeslot (ET)	# Ep.	Premiered		Ended		TV Season	Viewers (in millions)
			Date	Premiere Viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale Viewers (in millions)
1	Thursday 10:00 pm (June 4 – August 27, 2009)	12	June 4, 2009	5.57	August 27, 2009	5.90	2009	7.47
2	Thursday 10:00 pm (June 3 – August 26, 2010) Thursday 9:00 pm (January 20 – February 24, 2011)	18	June 3, 2010	5.84	February 24, 2011	4.05	2010–2011	7.33
3	Wednesday 9:00 pm (June 29 – August 31, 2011) Wednesday 10:00 pm (January 18 – February 22, 2012)	16	June 29, 2011	5.00	February 22, 2012	3.16	2011–2012	TBA
4	Wednesday 9:00 pm (June 6 – September 19, 2012) Sunday 9:00 pm (December 16, 2012)	16	June 6, 2012	3.95	December 16, 2012	3.25	2012	TBA
5	Wednesday 9:00 pm (June 12 – September 11, 2013)	13	June 12, 2013	3.68	September 11, 2013	3.75	2013	TBA
6	Tuesday 9:00pm (June 10 – September 2, 2014)	13	June 10, 2014	2.38	September 2, 2014	1.78	2014	TBA
7	Tuesday 9:00pm (June 2 – July 21, 2015)	8	June 2, 2015	1.67	July 21, 2015	1.57	2015	TBA

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the first season of Royal Pains in Region 1 on May 25, 2010, and released it in Region 4 on August 25, 2010. Season 2 was released in Region 1 on May 17, 2011. A DVD released on January 3, 2012, contained the first 10 episodes of the third season. Episodes are also available on iTunes and seasons 1-7 are now available on Netflix.com through their streaming service.

Title	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Bonus Features
Season 1	May 25, 2010	July 26, 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)
Season 2	May 17, 2011	August 12, 2013	March 28, 2012	Deleted Scenes; Gag Reel; Commentary; Guest Starring; Location, Location, Location
Season 3	January 3, 2012 (Vol 1) May 29, 2012 (2012-05-29) (Vol 2)	August 5, 2013
Season 4	May 7, 2014	July 6, 2015
Season 5	September 23, 2014	July 6, 2015
Season 6	April 28, 2015
Season 7	April 26, 2016
Season 8	July 19, 2016

Novel series

Beginning in 2011, D.P. Lyle began publishing a book series based on the television series, under Signet Books' Obsidian imprint.

Title	Author	ISBN	Publication date
First, Do No Harm	D.P. Lyle, M.D.	0451234146	June 7, 2011
Sick Rich		0451235533	January 3, 2012

International distribution

Region	Provider	Launch
Canada	Showcase	2010-01
Australia	Seven Network	2010-02-01 (season 2)
New Zealand	TV3	2010
Mexico	Sony Entertainment Television	2010-02-21
Brazil	Sony Entertainment Television	2010-02-21
Italy	Joi	2009-09-10
Spain	Paramount Comedy	2009-10-14
Poland	TVP 1 TVN 7	2010-01-06 aka Bananowy doktor (Banana doctor)
Portugal	Sony Entertainment Television (Portugal)	2010-02-15 aka Mágoas de Grandeza
Greece	Star Channel	2010-03-13
Romania	Universal Channel	2010-05-03 aka Pacienti de Lux (Luxury Patients)
Slovakia	TV Doma	2012-05-03 aka Bolesti Slávnych (Royal Pains)
United Kingdom	Universal Channel	2010-05-09 (season 2)
Bulgaria	Nova Television	2010-07-17 aka Houscall Doctor (Доктор на повикване)
France	Canal+	2010-07-18
Norway	Viasat 4	2010-07-19
Denmark	TV 3	N/A
Slovenia	POP BRIO	2010-09-03 aka Dr. De Luxe
Sweden	TV 6	N/A
Serbia	Fox Life Prva Plus Prva	2011-06-06 2014-06-02 2015
Finland	MTV3	2011-01-07<braka Kallista kipua (Expensive Pain)
Netherlands	RTL 5	2012-06-03
Germany	RTL	2011-05-17
Switzerland	SF zwei	2011-06-06
Austria	Puls 4	2011-12-09
Belgium	2BE	2011-06-05
Russia	Domashny	2011-12-19 aka Дорогой доктор (Expensive doctor)
Latvia	TV3	2012 (season 2) aka Bagātnieku dakteris (Rich Doctor)
Estonia	TV6	2012-05-01 aka Rikaste Valud (Rich Pains)
Saudi Arabia	MBC4	2012-10-01
Israel	Yes Stars Drama	2010-06-08 aka רופא להשכיר
Japan	WOWOW	2010-07-03 aka kyumeii hanku: serebu shinryo fairu (Emergency M.D. Hank: Celebrity Medical Files), 救命医ハンク セレブ診療ファイル (Japanese Title)
Singapore	Universal Channel	2010 (season 2)
Southeast Asia Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Myanmar Singapore Thailand Vietnam	STAR World	2011-09-30 (season 3)
Taiwan	STAR World Universal Channel (Asia)	under the Chinese name "上流名醫(Famous Upper Class Doctor)"
Cuba	Canal Habana	2012
Philippines	2nd Avenue / Jack City	2010-05-11 / 2013-01
Turkey	Universal Channel

Legal issues

On July 6, 2010, actor Hayden Christensen and his older brother Tove filed a lawsuit against USA Network in a Manhattan Federal Court. In the suit, the brothers claimed to have pitched USA Network an idea for a new television series, 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, "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. On May 10, 2011, a Manhattan judge ruled not enough evidence was available to justify a breach-of-contract claim because the claim concerns "materials that are not copyrightable, such as ideas." The decision was reversed on appeal in June 2012, the court holding that Christensens' claims were not pre-empted by copyright law. The opinion stated, "There are several qualitative differences between such a contract claim and a copyright violation claim," and added that sister appellate circuits recently had come to this same conclusion. The case was settled with no details made public in May 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Royal Pains at IMDb