USA NETWORK'S ICONIC HIT SUMMER SERIES "ROYAL PAINS" HEADS TO THE HAMPTONS FOR EIGHTH AND FINAL SEASON

The Universal Cable Productions Series Bids Adieu with Eight New Episodes - Including Its 100th Episode - Beginning Wednesday, May 18

New York, NY - March 10, 2016 - USA Network gives its viewers one last dose of ROYAL PAINS when the hit drama airs its eighth and final season beginning Wednesday, May 18 at 10pm ET/PT with eight all-new episodes. The esteemed summer series, from Universal Cable Productions and creator and executive producer Andrew Lenchewski and executive producer Michael Rauch, has captivated a loyal fan base and consistently ranked as a top 10 series across all key demos on its night for all seven seasons.

In its final season, ROYAL PAINS will celebrate the distinguished honor of crossing the 100th episode milestone midway through the season, and will also include a visit to Hong Kong and a unique musical episode featuring several new and returning guest stars.

"Under the direction of talented showrunners Michael Rauch and Andrew Lenchewski, our entire ensemble cast led by Mark Feuerstein, and amazing crew, ROYAL PAINS took viewers on a remarkable, unforgettable journey for eight wonderful seasons," said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal. "While summer in the Hamptons may never be the same, this last season promises to be an epic ride."

"Eight seasons of unadulterated joy! Michael, Chewy, Mark and the entire ROYAL PAINS team have been a joy to work with since day one," said Jeff Wachtel, Chief Content Officer, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. "We will thank them forever for creating such a wonderful way to spend our summers."

"It's with great sadness, but even greater thankfulness, that we prepare for our final summer sunsets as ROYAL PAINS comes to an end. We couldn't have imagined a more talented and dedicated writers' room, cast, or crew, and we couldn't have asked for better partners than USA Network and Universal Cable Productions," said creator and executive producer Andrew Lenchewski and executive producer Michael Rauch. "We want to thank Bonnie Hammer, Chris McCumber, Jeff Wachtel and every other member of our network and studio family for tirelessly supporting us over eight magical seasons, and more importantly, for giving us the opportunity to complete this series on our own terms. We'll always have The Hamptons."

ROYAL PAINS' final season will explore pivotal life decisions for all of the staff at HankMed, and with everyone's focus pulled in various directions, the future of the business is at stake. After years in the Hamptons as everyone's favorite concierge doctor, Hank (Feuerstein) must decide if his professional fulfillment equals his personal fulfillment. Evan (Paulo Costanzo) and Paige (Brooke D'Orsay) endure challenging marital decisions and must examine what family really means to them.

Meanwhile, a number of life events complicate Divya's (Reshma Shetty) career aspirations. Jeremiah (Ben Shenkman) must choose between research and patient care; and just as Eddie (recurring guest star, Henry Winkler) has earned the trust of Hank and Evan, they discover he still has secrets that can rock their world. All the while, Boris (recurring guest star, Campbell Scott) makes a series of life-altering decisions that could change the group dynamic forever.

A special musical episode will feature guest stars Christine Ebersole and Cloris Leachman. When Ms. Newberg's (Ebersole) life-long best friend, Annette, (Leachman) visits the Hamptons, she begins seeing every situation around her as a musical number. While Hank attempts to diagnose what is wrong with her, everyone at HankMed bursts into song and dance.

This season also brings back some of the most influential patients and characters including Divya's husband, Raj (Rupak Ginn), Mark's on and off love interest Jill (Jill Flint), Libby (Meredith Hagner), and General William Collins (Bob Gunton). Additional prominent guest stars featured in the final season include Annie Potts, Teri Polo, Sebastian Roche, Dan Lauria, Constance Wu, Hal Linden, Ana Ortiz and Maria Dizzia.

Since ROYAL PAINS' 2009 debut, critics hailed the series with Entertainment Weekly calling the show "�one of cable's most charming hours." The series garnered accolades through the years including a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Cable TV Comedy, a GLAAD Media Award nomination and finalist placement in the Cynopsis Social Good Awards.

Many iconic guest stars have graced the Hamptons during the show's run, including Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, "Today" host Matt Lauer, Grammy Award-Winner John Legend, NFL wide receiver Greg Jennings, reality stars Khlo� Kardashian and Scott Disick, "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi, and NBA Superstar Muggsy Bogues, among others.

Season seven delivered strong ratings, averaging over three million total viewers on a L7 basis, and over one million in the key demos (1.03M P18-49; 1.24M P25-54). ROYAL PAINS has accumulated 1.4 million social media fans, with 880K Facebook fans and 557K Twitter followers.

Fans can catch up on season seven of ROYAL PAINS anytime on VOD or via streaming at usanetwork.com.

Created by Andrew Lenchewski, ROYAL PAINS is executive produced by Lenchewski and Michael Rauch. Rich Frank also serves as executive producer along with Jeff Kwatinetz from Prospect Park. Connie Burge, Carol Flint, Jon Sherman and Jessica Ball are executive producers.

From Universal Cable Productions, the series filmed in New York (Long Island and Brooklyn) and at locations in and around the Hamptons. Throughout its run, the series travelled abroad to destinations including Hungary, Italy, France, South Africa, Argentina and Puerto Rico, and this season - Hong Kong.

About USA Network:

USA Network, the leader in cable entertainment, offers a powerful stable of dramatic, comedic and unscripted originals in more than 102 million U.S. homes. The network also features spectacular live television, a dynamic portfolio of acquired series and the best in blockbuster theatrical films and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. The award-winning website is located at http://www.usanetwork.com. Watch USA Network anywhere: On Demand, online or across mobile and connected TVs.

About Universal Cable Productions:

Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. In the U.S., UCP's programming can be seen across various networks including the Golden Globe award-winning drama "Mr. Robot," "Colony," "Playing House," "Royal Pains" and "Suits" on USA Network; "The Magicians," "12 Monkeys," "Hunters" and "Killjoys" on Syfy; "Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce" on Bravo; "The Royals," on E!; "Difficult People," on Hulu; and "Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome" on Machinima Prime/YouTube and Syfy. UCP's content library includes critic and fan favorites such as the Emmy-award winning "Monk" as well as "Psych" and "Battlestar Galactica." Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.