Just how good is Royal Pains?

So, three episodes into its first series, the question on America’s lips is this:

Is Royal Pains any good?

It’s certainly popular, getting the USA Network around five and a half million viewers in its 10pm slot on Thursday nights. It follows the ever popular Burn Notice (which is definitely brilliant – I shall brook no opposition to this), so at least part of this audience is inherited. It features Mark Feuerstein (West Wing, The Hustler) as Doctor Hank Lawson, Paulo Constanzo (who was in, er, Joey) as his brother Evan, Reshma Shetty in her first major role as the sharp talking physicians’ assistant  Divya, and Jill Flint (Six Degrees, Gossip Girl) as Jill Casey, the head administrator of the local hospital.

If you haven’t seen it, the basic premise is as such: Hank starts out as a surgeon in the Emergency Ward of a major New York hospital. Whilst working on the heart of one of the board members, he goes to help a young kid, considering the rich guy to be stable. Of course, he dies, Hank gets fired, his wife leaves him, he spirals into a depression and is nearly broke when his brother drags him away to the Hamptons for a weekend of partying. Whilst there, he rescues a sick reveler, and having impressed one of the locals, is invited to stay on as a concierge doctor – essentially, when someone gets sick, they call him and he comes to them.

Now, let’s be clear here. This isn’t a medical procedural on wheels. It’s not like House, where you spend the whole episode wondering how the team is going to affect a miraculous rescue of the patient – which is not to say that Hank doesn’t share Doctor House’s ability to miraculously diagnose illnesses that lesser mortals would miss. The tone is a lot more light hearted – it’s really more like a cross between the OC, Gossip Girl and Grey’s Anatomy. Except more grown up.

The love interest is between Hank and Jill. And here’s where the problem lies. For the rest of the show, the dialogue is snappy, the acting accomplished, and the Hamptons play their role as home to the rich and famous with aplomb. However, when the Flint and Feuerstein are on screen together, they seem to lack a certain chemistry. What I can’t decide, however, is whether this is deliberate or not. Hank Lawson is meant to be someone who was dating the same woman for a long time, so perhaps his awkwardness is meant to reflect the character’s lack of recent experience in chatting up ladies? Are we just too used to our leads being socially adept, and when they are not, it seems out of place? Or is it really just a bum note in the overall show.

I must admit that I haven’t decided what I think the answer to this is. However, I’ll certainly be tuning in this week, at the usual time, and I’d recommend you giving it a go.Let us know what you think below!