I am – Hercules!!


A likeable romantic dramedy from writer-producer Michael Rauch (“Love Monkey,” “Life Is Wild”) and Andrew Lenchewski (“UC: Undercover”), “Royal Pains” follows a newly blackballed New York ER doctor named Hank Lawson who stumbles into a career as a “concierge physician,” mending misbehaving (if insanely rich) Hamptons residents away from the prying eyes of the law. It stars Mark Feuerstein (“Once and Again,” “Good Morning, Miami,” “The West Wing”).

The pilot suggests a less cartoony “Dirty Sexy Money,” with a middle-class and well-meaning doctor instead of a middle-class and well-meaning lawyer. There are also big chunks of “The O.C.” and “Privileged” in its DNA. Directed by TV vet Jace Alexander (“Rescue Me,” “Canterbury’s Law”), the pilot is glossier than a lot of big-screen features.

Campbell Scott (a lot grayer than he was two years ago on J.J. Abrams’ “Six Degrees”) is commanding and effective as a pragmatic zillionaire, and Paulo Costanzo (“Joey”) proves solid as Hank’s CPA kid brother. I even like the kid who plays a self-sufficient kid hemophiliac.

It’s certainly one of most watchable basic cable pilots I’ve seen in some time, so I’m provisionally season-passing it.

USA Today says:

… Tonight's episode works a bit too hard to establish the premise, but luckily, the worst moments are all in the setup, and we'll never have to go through them again. What's left is an amusing series that is well-served by Feuerstein, who may have finally found a role that keeps him suitably employed. …

The New York Times says:

… The series may want to say something about the inequities of the medical care system or it may just want an excuse to produce panning shots of the velvet lawns and iron gates of Gin Lane. …

The Los Angeles Times says:

… There are some problems: Except for his scenes as a depressed couch potato, Hank is all super skills and high-mindedness, which makes him in most respects the least interesting character here. The best stuff happens around him: As his comical brother, Costanzo makes a shallower but more consistent part quite charming. And Ezra Miller, as a super-rich latchkey teen abandoned by his father in a modernist architectural showplace, gives a lesson in intelligent underplaying; by relaxing into his part, he makes it real. The Hamptons themselves, and the other bits of Long Island that stand in for them here, help sell the show. The sunny shore, the grasses, the seabirds -- it's a vacation just looking at them.

The Chicago Tribune says:

… Though the show apes "Burn Notice's" beachside vibe, it is too predictable to make an impression. … Feuerstein, while likable, doesn't give any subtext to his blandly written character. The only person I wanted to see again was Boris, a mega-rich German played by Campbell Scott. Boris has all the charisma that the "Royal" physician lacks.

The Washington Post says:

… It's escapist and beachy, with a high disregard for reality. And that's a good thing. … Lead-coated dialogue may slow down the opening emergency room scenes, but once the show hits the beach, the tone gets lighter, campier, more suitable to Feuerstein's rom-com talents. Campbell Scott is fun as the wealthy party-hosting Austrian whose name sounds like Boris Keister von Jergens Crack Dip, and who offers Hank a house on his property. … The premiere isn't laugh-out-loud funny, though Paulo Costanzo as Hank's brother tries (and tries too hard). The supporting cast is uneven, though Hank's down-to-earth love interest, played by Jill Flint, is his equal in charm. …

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:

… an amusing, enjoyable addition to basic cable. … Hank is definitely the show's straight man -- Evan and the locals make "Royal Pains" worth checking out.

The Boston Herald says:

… The 90-minute premiere feels padded. The first 20 minutes could easily be condensed to three. At its best, it’s “Nip/Tuck” shorn of wit and creativity. At least the scenery is pretty. …

The Boston Globe says:

… isn't very good. But the series fits so perfectly into the whole USA gestalt, under the "Characters Welcome" promotional mantra, I feel almost admiring toward it. … The one-liners are broad, the plots preposterous. And yet it all works in a lighthearted-summer-fare kind of way, helped along with almost pornographic images of Hamptons wealth. … "Royal Pains" will continue to work if it can stay playful and innocuous. The minute Hank gets invested in healing the moral ills of spoiled Hamptons rich folk, "Royal Pains" will become a royal pain.

Variety says:

… Breezy escapism isn't terrible as calculated formulas go, but nobody risks suffering a headache from being forced to over-think the 75-minute premiere. … utterly unpretentious about its modest creative ambitions, and in this day and age, who doesn't like the idea of a doctor who makes house calls? Simply being quirky, however, only goes so far, so my preliminary diagnosis is that these "Pains" don't amount to much more than a second-degree "Burn."

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… fun to watch. Feuerstein and Costanzo have an instant and believable chemistry, and no matter how many interchangeable women come through their lives, this is the best relationship on the show. The series is superficial and glossy but still slick and enjoyable. It's just a beach read, but it's a good one. …

10 p.m. Thursday. USA.

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