5 day forecast
Rich characters supply booster shot to USA's 'Royal Pains'
-
Paulo Costanzo, left, and Mark Feuerstein play brothers setting up shop in the Hamptons in USA Network's "Royal Pains," premiering tonight.
Share with others:
A light, breezy show about a New York doctor who finds himself a fish out of water in the tony Hamptons, USA's "Royal Pains" is an amusing, enjoyable addition to basic cable.
The show actually begins with a more dramatic tone as Dr. Hank Lawson (blah Mark Feuerstein, "Good Morning Miami," "Conrad Bloom") attempts to save a basketball player who collapses on the court. At the same time, another patient enters his hospital's ER that Hank makes a lower priority. Soon after his world spins out of control.
Up to this point, "Royal Pains" (10 tonight), written by Andrew Lenchewski ("UC: Undercover"), comes off as mediocre, but the show's prospects brighten when Hank's younger, goofy brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo, "Joey") enters the picture.
"I'm on the verge of having a Roman orgy with the entire cast of 'Gossip Girl,' " Evan says when Hank tries to drag him out of a party.
Evan gets the best dialogue and is showcased in the funniest scenes once the pair head to the Hamptons for the weekend. While there, Hank gets corralled into working as a concierge doctor to the wealthy.
In tonight's 75-minute premiere, sun-drenched scenes in the Hamptons look fantastic, and the lives of the rich and lazy are ripe for comedic fodder -- even during medical emergencies.
One woman needs assistance with a burst breast implant (she calls it her "flat tire") and complains when the local hospital won't let her line jump.
"It's a socialist conspiracy," she says. "Apparently if you're not holding your dismembered leg in your hand, you don't receive treatment."
Hank is definitely the show's straight man -- Evan and the locals make "Royal Pains" worth checking out.
After tonight's premiere, "Royal Pains" will air Thursdays at 9 p.m.
First Published June 4, 2009 12:00 am
