The rainy day loomed over Royal Pains star Mark Feuerstein’s most challenging shot of the day, and, as a result, the first-time director was faced with a choice: erect tents to protect the cast from impending showers (and compromise the intense moment), use umbrellas (eww), or trust the weatherman’s word that the showers would let up by the time they needed to roll. He chose option 3 — and, yes, the sun did come out. Lucky, he says, because the funeral just wouldn’t have reflected his vision otherwise. That’s right, funeral.
The opening scene of tonight’s episode features the brother (and a few others) sitting before a grave…and doesn’t explain much else. “I immediately thought it was Eddie’s (Henry Winkler) funeral — our father,” says Feuerstein. “I don’t know what the experience is of the viewer, but I was shocked, freaked out. But then I forgot about it because you immediately dive back into the typical Royal Pains shenanigans.” The answer to the mystery doesn’t come until later in the episode, but, as Feuerstein jokes, it’s a “mind f—.” Such challenging scenes are exactly what Feuerstein had looked forward to during his first time stepping in as director on Pains, he says.
And to make matters a bit easier, the episode airing tonight also finds Hank debilitated by back problems. But that in itself turned into a unique comedic challenge, he says. “It ended up being quite a bit of shtick walking to a medicine cabinet with a bad back,” he says. “My first scene directing my episode involved me walking to the medicine cabinet, calling out shots of myself, then stepping into my own shots to pretend I had a bad back. It felt both narcissistic and embarrassing.”
That, and much more can be seen in tonight’s episode. Check out a sneak peek of the episode below featuring Dr. Van Dyke (Kyle Howard) as Hank’s temporary replacement
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EW's Spoiler Room: 'Royal Pains'
