TVSquad

Sing with me: here's a story about a doctor who is busy caring for rich folks in New York... Okay, it doesn't have the bouncy tune of a Sherwood Schwartz theme song, but this new USA show sounds like fun.

USA has picked up Royal Pains, a new summer series starring Mark Feuerstein as Hank Lawson, M.D., a doctor who is on-call to some of the most demanding patients around, the richie-riches who live in the fashionable Hamptons of Long Island.

There are a few reasons to be psyched about this new drama. For starters, it's coming from the same network that brings us Psych, not to mention Burn Notice, Starter Wife and In Plain Sight. In other words, USA has been doing very well in developing idiosyncratic, interesting comedy-drama series. There's no reason to think that Royal Pains will be a dud.


There's some thought that since this is a doctor show, USA will pair it with House, which the cable net has been running for a while with very good results. I don't disagree with the programming notion, but in my mind it's more about finding a first-run replacement for Monk. That show has already announced that it's wrapping after the 2009 season.

USA has ordered a two-hour pilot and 11 hour-long episodes. Unlike an NBC order, we can be sure to see all 13-hours of Royal Pains. Consider that one more reason to embrace cable programming. The powers that be are also emphasizing that this is not a medical drama, it's a doctor show. It's going to be about the personality of the M.D., not the cases. I doubt we'll see him in scrubs very much because they're not saying it'll be set in a hospital.

Casting Mark Feuerstein in Royal Pains is also a plus. He's a familiar TV face, if not a breakout star. You've seen him featured prominently on The West Wing, Good Morning, Miami, Once and Again, 3 lbs., Caroline in the City, and numerous prime time episodes. He's always been this terrific actor just on the brink of a big hit show. Royal Pains might be that hit.