Since being discovered as part of a national talent search for Road Trip to his current gig on the hit USA series ROYAL PAINS, Paulo Costanzo [Pictured above left alongside co-star Mark Feuerstein] has had what many might consider a fairytale career. Of course, as with practically everything in life, the path to success is not nearly as easy as it appears to be, as you’ll see from these five things you probably didn’t know about the actor.

He’s always wanted to be an actor.
After catching the acting bug from his mother, who was a theater school major in University, the need to make a career out of one of the world’s most insecure professions was cemented for Costanzo at the ripe old age of 15. “I was really shy growing up, I always wanted to be heard and finally I got the balls to audition for the high school musical where I got the lead and that was kind of it, I never really looked back after that,” said Constanzo while recently holding court in Toronto’s beautiful Hazelton hotel to promote the return of ROYAL PAINS to Showcase in Canada. “To me, what shy means is being unable to express yourself and be heard even though you want to me and to me that’s how I felt. I had a lot of bullies, I was kind of an outcast, so when I finally found a forum to me to do it safely it was like letting out a caged animal.”

He Knew JOEY was destined for failure from the beginning.
Despite the fact that most outsiders would have just naturally assumed that nabbing a role in the ill-fated FRIENDS spin-off JOEY was akin to winning the lottery for virtually any actor, the sitcom neophyte knew better. “I knew it wasn’t going to work from day one,” admitted Costanzo. “I wasn’t happy that it went down and had a lot fun throughout but to be very honest, the moment I showed up on set I entered a preexisting hierarchy because it was all the same people who did FRIENDS and they really had a way of doing things that didn’t allow much collaboration.”

He partially credits his magic afro for his role on ROYAL PAINS!
When it comes to the circumstances surrounding being offered the coveted role of Evan Lawson on ROYAL PAINS, you might say that Costanzo won out by a hair. Literally. “When the producers brought me in for a chemistry read, I was, at the time, reading for Hank’s best friend Evan Waxman. There was no brother. So when I walked in and saw Mark [Feuerstein] I thought ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to get this, he looks exactly like me!’ I mean I couldn’t believe I had never seen this guy before,” recalled Costanzo. “And as a result of that I had an extra boldness because I thought I had nothing to lose. I was like ‘WOW! We looked identical, that’s kind of crazy, wanna rub afros and see what happens?’ And Mark said ‘Suuuure!’ He got up and that’s how we met, we rubbed afros! That day I knew that the only way I’d get this part is if I somehow convince the producers with my audition that they have to re-write the whole part which is sort of what they did.”

His brotherly relationship with Mark Feuerstein is just what the doctor ordered.
As anyone who has seen ROYAL PAINS can attest to, a huge part of both the show’s appeal and success is the believable brotherly love between Costanzo’s younger more business savvy brother Evan, and the older more medically inclined brother Hank [Mark Feuerstein]. “Mark and I have a wonderful relationship, I love him. We are very similar in many ways, we both like to add things to the script to elevate the material,” said Costanzo. “We have a very brotherly relationship where we can get into little arguments and survive them perfectly and be all the better for them. We have a very complete relationship and we very much are like brothers. I don’t think I’ve had that with anyone I’ve ever worked with before.”

His mom is battling liver cancer.
Now we know what you’re thinking… why on earth would theTVaddict.com — a website that as a policy refrains from reporting on the personal lives of actors in favor of the only thing we really care about, their performance on screen — bother reporting on something as personal as a family member’s battle with Cancer? Simply put, Costanzo who was recently approached to speak at Yankee stadium on behalf of Stand Up to Cancer wanted us to. Explained Costanzo, “Stand Up to Cancer is this not-vague organization that literally is just assembling the best and brightest of Cancer researchers. They’re awesome and I’d love it if you could mention standup2cancer.org. If you make a dollar donation you actually could be helping the aggressive push towards the end of cancer, because that’s what they’re going for.”

New Episodes of ROYAL PAINS can currently be found on Wednesdays at 10PM on USA (Canadian TV Addicts can catch Season 2 premiering on Wednesday August 31st at 10PM on Showcase). Catch up on past episodes you may have missed for free online at clicktowatch.tv

In last week’s edition of Ask the Addict you teased that BONES would kick off the season with a first scene that promises to amaze people… Care to elaborate? — Jennifer
The TV Addict: Seeing as though we have absolutely no idea as to what Hart Hanson was referring to when he revealed that “the first scene shot is going to amaze people,” we actually wouldn’t care to elaborate. But, what we would be more than happy to do is let you in a little secret with regards to what said aforementioned opening scene won’t involve: House hunting! After-all, that little doozy of a discussion won’t go down until the fifth episode of the BONES’ season that will see Booth and Brennan, well actually more so the multi-million dollar-best selling author Brennan, house shopping online.

Any chance you can do this Gleek a solid by sharing some GLEE scoop? Particularly of the Rachel Berry/Lea Michele variety? — Dianna
The TV Addict: According to Lea Michele, who we were lucky enough to catch up with during FOX party at the recent Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angels, Rachel Berry fans are in for quite the treat this season. Teased Michele, “I know that I have some really great storylines with Chris Colfer and Darren Criss, I know that I’m going to be in the school musical — which I can’t reveal — but it’s one of my dream roles — not Fanny Brice — and I know that they’re going back to a lot of classic songs. From the first script it was not a lot of top 10 hits but older songs which I love and am so excited to sing and lots of Broadway so I’m super excited about that.”

Although I applaud your recent commitment to a weekly spoiler column, Ask the Addict has been missing one crucial thing over the course of the past few weeks: SUPERNATURAL scoop. So how ’bout it? — Julie
The TV Addict: Suffice it to say, there’s a very good reason why Ask the Addict has been somewhat devoid of SUPERNATURAL scoop. That reason, the fine folks at Warner Bros. Television tend to keep an extra tight lid on story lines emanating from that SUPERNATURAL writer’s room. Luckily for you, we did a little extra snooping this week in an effort to dig up some scoop that goes a little something like so: White it probably won’t come as much as a surprise that those clever SUPERNATURAL writers continue to tap into the cultural zeitgeist du jour, what just might is the subject of their jabs. Which is to say, early episodes of SUPERNATURAL’s seventh season will not only poke fun at Newsweek’s recent controversial cover gal, but the fifth episode of the season will be entitled “Shut Up, Dr. Phil.”

Jonsing for a hit of WEEDS scoop. — Sammy
The TV Addict: The Botwin brood’s penchant for failing to catch a break will continue when one of the younger Botwins ends up in handcuffs. Oh, and just for clarification sake we should probably mention, not the fun role-playing kind of handcuffs. What?! Too much information?

In a recent episode of ROYAL PAINS, Evan finally stood up to Hank and while I loved the moment and thought it was long-overdue, I can’t help but wonder if my favorite cable family is headed for trouble. So are they? — Amy
The TV Addict: According to Evan’s real-life counterpart Paulo Constanzo, who returned to his hometown last week to promote the return of ROYAL PAINS to Canada’s Showcase Network on August 31 (Wednesdays, 10PM), they are indeed headed for trouble. “It was a long time coming and I think that scene really was the beginning of him [Evan] finally standing up for the business he created,” said Costanzo from his suite in the beautiful Hazelton Hotel in downtown Toronto. “And there’s more of that by the way. Before the end of the season there’s big fireworks between the brothers, things go bad.”

Got any idea how the Cul-de-Sac Crew plan on celebrating their return to ABC? — Martin
The TV Addict: We do, but you’re probably not going to want to hear it. According to sources, an early episode of COUGAR TOWN’s third season back will see Jules rushing to the hospital upon learning that a family member has ended up in the ER with a serious hairline skull fracture. Now we know what you’re thinking… Penny Can game gone terribly, terribly, wrong… well, stay tuned.

Massive Mikita Shipper here! Got any word on how Michael and Nikita are handling life on the lam? — Rebecca
The TV Addict: Since we here at theTVaddict.com strive to not just to meet, but exceed your expectations when it comes to answering your questions we’re going to go ahead and not just offer up one word on how Michael and Nikita are doing, but two! It’s complicated. Made all the more so when a beautiful political operative from Michael’s past return to seek protection in an early episode of NIKITA’s second season for not just herself, but her young son as well. Where the complicated part comes in is that the adorable moppet may-or-may-not bare a somewhat striking resemblance to everybody’s favorite former division agent. Awkward.

So excited for PARENTHOOD’s return. Any clues as to how Kristina will handle being pregnant? — Michelle
The TV Addict: Clue #1: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Or to be more specific, that is the sound Kristina will very soon be making upon the realization that she will be forced to give birth without her husband Adam by her side. Clue #2: AWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Also konwn as your soon to be reaction upon discovering the identity of just which Braverman is brave enough (pun intended) to step up to the plate to help Kristina deliver a beautiful baby girl.

Full of enthusiasm and exuberance that mirrors her character on the show, Brooke D’Orsay could barely contain her excitement over the upcoming third season of ROYAL PAINS.  She was only too happy to share what she loves about Paige, the Paige/Evan relationship and what may lie ahead for the two love birds.

When last seen at the end of the second season, Paige and Evan were embarking on a European dream vacation.  As the series picks up nine months later, Paige and Evan return to life in the Hamptons still as in love and happy as ever.  As Brooke teased, “They did go to Europe. We start a year later at the beginning of the following summer. So they’ve been dating a year now. The first year everything is new and exciting, but this new year brings complications for their relationship.”  The balloon has not exactly burst, but real life issues begin to encroach in their cocoon of bliss.

Talking about the one thing that really stands out and describes who Paige is as a person, Brooke said that the word that best describes her is “benevolent.”  As she explained, “[Paige] has such a good heart and is so generous. She always tries to act in the best interest of others.”  Even when it may not be in her own best interest, such as hiding a secret.

Yet despite this altruistic streak in Paige, Brooke really admires Paige’s ease with life.  She tried to explain it as, “I admire her ease –her sense of ease. She always does the right thing.”  That instinct to do the right thing will be tested soon enough when there are conflicting things that weigh upon Paige as the third season reveals.

The growing depth and expansion of her role has even surprised Brooke who exclaimed, “I was really surprised! [Paige] was originally in one episode, possibly two.”  The fact that the show has embraced her and the character so warmly and made her an integral part of it has been a dream come true for Brooke.  Not only is the storyline going to take some surprising twists this season, but it has also offered her the chance to explore facets that she never envisioned.

Brooke also loves the rich and diverse wardrobe that Paige gets to wear on the show.  She shared that her favorite costume piece so far was an Elie Tahari dress that she wore in the scene where Brooke said goodbye to her parents.  In fact, she happily shared, “I actually went out and bought it! Caroline Duncan is the best at creating wardrobes. I don’t have to add any input because the outfits are perfect!”

Looking back over this past season and all the fun moments she got to be a part of on the show, Brooke said that the one moment that really resonated with her was when Hank said, “A person is rich who manages to do well and good.”  She said, “It was the best line. I loved it!”

As for how much fun it is to work with her co-star Paulo Costanza, Brooke was just as effusive in her admiration of him.  She gleefully noted, “He’s the best! He is so much fun and we have such a good time. I really do enjoy his company.”

Brooke is so happy with where her character arc is going, she sees a world of opportunity ahead for Paige and Evan.  When asked if she thought there may be a wedding ahead in their future, she exclaimed, “I certainly hope so! I feel like it could go that way. I wouldn’t be surprised.”  She also has thought about the wedding and what it would be like and speculated, “I think it would be non-traditional. It would be fun and youthful. Outside of the box but still nice.” 

In addition to the fun scenes that she has with Paulo, Brooke just loves her co-stars Reshma Shetty and Jill Flint, who play Divya Katdare and Jill Casey respectively.  They are bit of a ‘girl’s club’ and Brooke revealed, “I love those girls! We do dinner and drinks all the time.”  She also said that it would be fun to have an episode focusing on the ‘girls’ for a change, such as “We need to have a CHARLIE’S ANGEL episode!”

Finally, for DROP DEAD DIVA fans, Brooke also teased that she will be making another appearance on the show in either episode 6 or 7 this season, which is a flashback with both Jackson Hurst and April Bowlby.  So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that special appearance as well.

To find out what secrets Paige may be hiding and what kind of wrinkle that puts in her future plans with Evan, be sure to tune in to ROYAL PAINS starting Wednesday, June 29th at 9:00PM on USA Network.

Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower). Tiffany also writes as a columnist for NiceGirlsTV.

Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower). Tiffany also writes as a columnist for NiceGirlsTV.

As USA Network’s series ROYAL PAINS returns for its third season, we find out what is next for the Lawsons, Hank and Evan, and their father Eddie Lawson, last seen headed off to prison.  The show picks up nine months later to see the aftermath of so many momentous changes in their lives.  But as the Lawsons discover, no matter how many  surprises and curve balls that life throws at them, they are still bound by their enduring love and intertwined destinies.

What can you tell us about the one year time jump and how will this effect the various relationships on the show between the characters?
Andrew Lenchewski: Well, it’s not quite a year. I mean what we’re doing is the first two seasons were in one summer and now we’re jumping to the next summer. So we’re going about a little under a nine-month time jump from the end of Summer 1 of the Royal Pains life to the beginning of Summer 2.
Michael Rauch: That’s been one of the challenges and one of the fun parts for us –  how do you keep the characters in larger arcs going even though there’s been basically a bunch of seasons that we haven’t played and we haven’t seen and the audience hasn’t seen. It’s one of the reasons why we ended Season 2 the way we did with a lot of people going away so we could come back in Season 3 with getting into what happened while they were gone. A continuation of some storylines and some surprises that happened in the time we didn’t play.
 
The first season seems the theme seemed to feel like forgiveness and the second season had a theme that felt like trust. Does this third season have an overall arcing theme?
Andrew Lenchewski: One of the other ways to look at the first 2 seasons that we’ve talked about is the first season being about the absence of family and the second season being about the presence of family. And it feels like a big theme in Season 3. At least in the episodes we’ve broken and written and shot so far, it’s the importance of family. We’ll see how that manifests in the Boris/Marissa – the pregnant Marissa storyline and how it manifests with Hank and Evan and them going down to visit Eddie in Florida and meeting yet another member of their family they haven’t had contact with in a very long time. Ultimately, and most importantly, the importance the family bond between Hank and Evan. We played a little bit of conflict between them at the end of Season 1 but it’s going to be a much bigger part of Season 3. There’s a divisive issue that sort of materializes between them that’s going to drive their arcs for the entire summer season and then extend into the winter season as well.
 
Can you talk about some of the upcoming guest starts and the role that they play, like Shiri Appleby and Julie Benz?
Michael Rauch: Yes.  We’re really excited about the guest stars we’ve had up to this point. We have Natalie Zea in the first episode. We have Greg Jennings playing himself, the Green Bay Packer wide receiver, in the second episode. We have Shiri Appleby and Jennifer Ferrin, who play best friends who open up an organic house – home product store in the third episode. And the amazing and legendary Ed Asner in the fourth and fifth episode and Julie Benz and Camille Chen in the sixth episode and some fun casting that’ll be announced this week for our seventh and eight episodes. So all actors who are amazing have these great careers and all who have fit really well into the tone of our show — and are definitely helping to make the episodes even better!

Will this season staying exclusively in the Hamptons or will Hank be able to venture out a bit more?
Andrew Lenchewski: No. He’ll definitely venture out. I mean it’s very much a show about the world of the Hamptons and so the large majority of our storytelling takes place there. And as we have in the previous two seasons, we will go a couple of times to New York City to take advantage of New York City’s proximity both to us in real life and to our characters in the story we’re telling. Then, as with last season where we went away for a couple of episodes to Puerto Rico which we shot to be Cuba, we went away for a couple of episodes in story to Florida this season so that Hank and Evan could visit Eddie in prison. But, in reality, we actually shot those episodes here in New York.  But Matt Penn who directed those episodes did a fantastic job of making New York look like Florida. So those will be some of the little road trips that we’ll see Hank and the other characters take in this season.
 
We spoke a little bit about guest stars. You’ve had some previous storylines in the past. Are you going to be bringing around any people who have previously been on the show?
Michael Rauch: Absolutely. We have some of our regular guest stars, like Campbell Scott coming back as Boris, and Christine Ebersole coming back as Ms. Newberg. We have the amazingly talented Brooke D’Orsay who comes back as Paige and as a special treat, Meredith Hagner who plays Libby is just finished an episode as well. So a lot of the kind of reoccurring ROYAL PAIN characters that we’ve had in Season 1 and Season 2 are coming back for Season 3 also.
 
Is there anyone that you’re trying to get as a guest start that you can share?
Andrew Lenchewski: Yes, a couple people. For the male guest star category, Michael and I are big fans of JB Smoove and we’ve been chasing him for quite a while. Hopefully we’ll find the right role for him at the right time and we can make that work. And in terms of female guest stars, we’re also equally big fans of Jordana Spiro and hopefully we will find an opportunity to get her on the show too. We think she’d really fit great with the tone of the show and really mesh with our existing cast very well.
 
Can you tell me what some of your personal favorite things about the show are for each of you?
Andrew Lenchewski: Yes. I mean, for me, it’s the fact that we’re shooting a show in the — and I think I can speak for Michael on this too — we’re both from New York and so to be able to film in areas that we knew growing up and areas where we frequent now since we both live here as well is an enormous treat. And I think more important than that is just the people that we work with. We have an incredible cast. They’re just gentlemen and ladies and they’re incredible professionals and they’re all very down to earth and incredibly easy to get along with. And our crew, I would say the same things about every single one of them. They’re all very hard working, very dedicated to the show and so much fun to be around on a daily basis. So I think those and of course our writers, which are in LA are an incredibly bright, experienced, sophisticated group who are really the engine that drives our storytelling. So we’re out there to spend as much time with them whenever we can and they come here for their episodes. So it’s really the place and the people to sum it up that make it the experience that it is.
 
Is there anything unexpected that the viewer who normally watches wouldn’t expect that’s going to happen that you can share a little bit about or tease us a little bit about?
Michael Rauch: There’s a really fun twist on the Boris medical storyline that we have coming toward the end of the summer season. That’s about all we can tell you about that.
 
How many seasons do you think ROYAL PAINS or would you like to see ROYAL PAINS go on for?
Michael Rauch: I’m not sure there’s a number that high. We would love the show to run for as long as we feel we can make a fun good show that the audience wants to watch!
 
And with those teasing tid-bits to share and excited optimism about the upcoming season, fans will just have to tune-in and see for themselves what is upcoming for Hank, Evan, Jill, Divya, Eddie and Paige.  It is sure to be another enticing summer of fun in the sun and lots of family and relationship surprises.  ROYAL PAINS returns Wednesday, June 29th at 9:00PM on USA Network.

Tiffany Vogt is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. She has a great love for television and firmly believes that entertainment is a world of wondrous adventures that deserves to be shared and explored – she invites you to join her. Please feel free to contact Tiffany at Tiffany_Vogt_2000@yahoo.com or follow her at on Twitter (@TVWatchtower). Tiffany also writes as a columnist for NiceGirlsTV.

Any word on how ROOKIE BLUE plans on kicking off its sophomore season this June? — Amy
The TV Addict: We see your word, and raise you two more. Which is to say, when last summer’s surprise smash returns this June 16 on ABC (Global TV in Canada) it will be doing so “with a bang.” That’s the good news. The bad news is said bang spells bad news — of the bullet in the chest variety — to one of the series regulars pictured in the above photo. Gulp!

Recently you teased that when ENTOURAGE kicks off its eighth and final season, it will do so following a stint in rehab for our leader of the pack. Which raises the question, upon his release, will Vinnie’s career trajectory be that of the Robert Downey Jr. or Lindsay Lohan variety? — David
The TV Addict: Unfortunately for those hoping Vince’s tabloid troubles were left in rehab following last season’s arrest shocker, stop hoping now. As it should be, the road to recovery will be a long an arduous one made all the more difficult when Vince is called into question by the LAPD following the death of a friend. Double Gulp!

The only thing I love more than Mark Sheppard, is some news on what he’s doing on SUPERNATURAL this week. Any chance you got some for me? — Jennifer
The TV Addict: Suffice to say, there is a very good reason that Sheppard has become one of science fiction’s go-to guys… the man knows how to keep his mouth shut! No really. Try as she might, Tiffany Vogt, our West Coast Senior Editor Extrodinaire who recently had the pleasure of chatting with Sheppard for an interview that you’ll be able to read in its entirety tomorrow couldn’t get anything. Well, she could, but as Sheppard jokingly countered when asked what he could share about the return of Crowley on tomorrow night’s episode, “Everything!… But then I’d have to kill you.”

Loving me some Sara and Neal on WHITE COLLAR, got anything to tide me over until the show returns this summer? — Joanna
The TV Addict: Suffice to say, summer lovin’ will see Neal and Sara having a blast. Particularly when they are forced to go on a Sarah Palin-esque New York City shopping spree in an effort to catch the eye of a clever corporate hacker who siphoned over $100 million in bank assets. Oh, and if that’s not enough summer lovin’ for you, said shopping spree may also introduce Mozzie to his next lady love.
 
So incredibly stoked for TERRA NOVA, any scoop? — Bram
The TV Addict: Despite the fact that Fox is keeping an incredibly tight lid on the mysterious and highly-anticipated new series, your very own TV Addict has learned that a jump back through time will most definitely not be the quick fix to Jim and Elisabeth Shannon’s troubled marriage. Especially when what awaits Mama Shannon back in time is a certain Chief Science Officer who may-or-may-not be the proverbial man who got away.

Anything for this ROYAL PAINS Addict?
The TV Addict: How does scoop on an upcoming episode that will see Hank and Evan’s father turn over an unexpected leaf when he plays angel to a friend confined to a hospital bed. While, Jill has an unexpected visit of her own to the E.R. that concerns everyone, including the always watchful Boris.

Really looking forward to prom on 90210. Any idea who will be King and Queen? — Amber
The TV Addict: Idea? How does photographic evidence courtesy of a surprisingly spoilerific photo just released by the CW.

Additional Reporting by Tiffany Vogt

Do you have anything positive to report for those of us McSteamy fans who aren’t quite on board with the whole Lexie/Jackson direction GREYS ANATOMY has taken? — Amy
The TV Addict: Don’t shoot the messenger, but if the (above) photo we’ve just obtained teasing the wedding between Callie and Arizona on the upcoming May 5th episode of GREY’S ANATOMY is any indication, one sure as heck doesn’t need to be a facial recognition expert akin to LIE TO ME’s Dr. Cal Lightman to guess that Lexie and Jackson seem to be doing okay, at least for the time being.

Any word on what ROYAL PAINS has up their sleeve this summer? — Mike
The TV Addict: Not so much, except to say that if the upcoming summer season of ROYAL PAINS is half as funny as the episode titles we’re hearing come out of the writer’s room, fans are in for a real treat. At least as evidence by the third episode of the season which is titled, “The Shaw/Hank Redemption” Seriously PSYCH writers, watch your back.

As much as I’m digging the new girl Charlie on GOSSIP GIRL, I’d dig her that much more if she came in between Dan and Blair. Anything you can tease? — Amber
The TV Addict: Having seen Monday’s episode we are sorry to report that Charlie does not in fact come between Dan and Blair… at least not yet. That said, fans will be happy to know that “Dair’s” forward momentum relationship wise takes a step backwards on Monday’s episode thanks to a former flame who returns to sweep Blair off her feet.

One of my favorite aspects of THE GOOD WIFE is the friendship that Kalinda and Alicia have developed over the course of the past two seasons. Is there any hope for the them now that Alicia knows the truth about Kalinda’s affair with Peter? — Miranda
The TV Addict: Put it this way, if a picture is worth 1000 words, this just obtained photo from an upcoming May episode of THE GOOD WIFE is telling us a whole heck of a lot. Namely, Alicia and Kalinda fans should brace themselves for a doozy of a fallout, one that — at least according to one source on the set — has Kalinda seriously contemplating an exit from Lockhart Gardner come May. Da… Da… Duh!

Is FRINGE serious about a major character death during its third season finale? — David
The TV Addict: Despite the identify of what Fox has carefully characterized as a “beloved team member” being kept tightly under wraps, we can confirm that a major character will meet his (or her) untimely demise during what is sure to be a thrilling third season finale. What’s more, we can also confirm irresponsibly speculate that Lance Reddick’s Agent Broyles will be the one to go, seeing as though he’s the only character, aside that is from Josh Jackson’s Peter who doesn’t have an alternate. Which is to say, unlike the death of numerous other characters, budget conscious Warner Bros. TV will save some serious coin should Broyles find himself six feet under in the finale.

Please tell me Jeremy and Bonnie will survive the season on THE VAMPIRE DIARIES? — Lesley
As much as we would love to tell you that both Jeremy and Bonnie will make it out of the season finale of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES in one piece, we can’t. Luckily what we can share is this just released synopsis of the episode that may-or-may-not offer up a clue or two as to who is a goner come May 12. “While Mystic Falls presents a screening of “Gone with The Wind” in the town square, Damon’s (Ian Somerhalder) memories of Katherine (Nina Dobrev) in 1864 mix with the reality of Elena (Nina Dobrev) in the present day. Stefan (Paul Wesley) pays a terrible personal price for his attempt to prevent a tragedy, and Sheriff Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre) makes a deadly mistake while trying to keep everyone safe. More than one life hangs in the balance as the consequences of the sacrifice ritual play out to a horrifying conclusion.”

Can’t wait for the return of WHITE COLLAR, any scoop? — Kristin
The TV Addict: This summer look for a Mozzie flashback revealing how he embarked on a life of crime and cons.  You’ll meet his mentor and the one man he owes everything to.  But the past never stays buried, and when the mob puts a hit out on his former mentor, Mozzie, Peter and Neal race against the clock to save him.  It is a rare glimpse into how Mozzie became the philosophy-quoting, caper-loving con artist we all know and love. 

Does Ryan Murphy have any surprises up his sleeve as the GLEE club heads towards Nationals? — Rebecca
The TV Addict: Complete with guest stars galore (Kristin Chenoweth returns on May 3 to convince Mr. Schuester to hit the road with him, with Jessie St. James returning May 10th) the road to Nationals will be full of surprises. Not the least of which will be an unexpected loss that rocks the world of one of McKinley’s own on May 17th.

Any ideas as to how ONE TREE HILL is treating this May’s finale? — Allie
The TV Addict: Suffice to say, if there is one cast that knows what it’s like to be on the proverbial bubble, it’s the cast of ONE TREE HILL. Or at least that’s the feeling we got after some one-on-one time with star James Lafferty earlier in the week. “I think all of us are of the mind that if it doesn’t go another season we’re so grateful with the 8 seasons that we’ve gotten. It wouldn’t be some sort of huge defeat. We’ve made the last episode of season 8 with an eye on the fact that it could very well be the last episode of the show,” said Lafferty. “If season 9 does come along it’s always welcome but at the same time if this is actually the last episode we’d be more grateful looking back on everything that we’ve been able to accomplish than disappointed in the fact that maybe we didn’t get to accomplish something. We’ve really covered all the bases and everything else would just be a cherry on top.”

Additional Reporting By: Tiffany Vogt

Mark Feuerstein, bless him, can gravitate to his own brand of boyish affability regardless of the source material. He’s the definition of solid: as the producer of a low-rated news show in GOOD MORNING, MIAMI; as Toni Collette’s love interest in IN HER SHOES; as Sussana Thompson’s younger boyfriend on ONCE AND AGAIN; and as the Hamptons rent-a-doc on USA’s new dramedy (heavy on the “medy” part) ROYAL PAINS – the guy can’t help but be likable.

And perhaps that’s his problem. Too easily taken as “earnest,” he’s been playing the nice guy for far longer than merited. But what’s one more go, right?

Hank Lawson is an up and coming New York City physician who unintentionally botches his career and engagement to his fiancée after one of the trustees of the hospital he works at dies under his care. Jobless and morose, he stews in his underwear until his randy brother Evan (Paulo Costanzo, who is essentially playing the exact same character he played on JOEY), who conveniently doubles as his accountant, swoops in to break his rut with a weekend in the Hamptons.

Whilst attending a lavish mansion party, a girl falls ill, leaving Hank to save her. He catches the eye of the mysteriously gloomy and brooding mansion owner (Campbell Scott), who likens him as an on-call, under-the-radar medical attention that keeps his name out of the hospital and the press. His work makes waves throughout town, rolling crises after crises upon Hank, who mostly puts up a lame hesitance before he jets off to the rescue.

The pilot – running long at 75 minutes – meanders awhile on Hank’s trepidation with being a “concierge doctor,” and is all kinds of lazy. The premiere – helmed by Jace Alexander, who also directed the BURN NOTICE pilot – takes its time, slowly trotting out pans of castle-like beachfront properties and sparkling ocean waves. And when it comes time for action, it barely lifts a finger: Hank, having to work in peoples’ homes, is forced to use household items to treat patients. Like MCGYVER. And just like BURN NOTICE. His beautiful and exotic assistant Divya (Reshma Shetty) just appears rather than being introduced. His romantic pursuit of hospital administrator Jill (Jill Fint)? Forget it.

And yet it doesn’t really matter, does it? USA has been, since MONK I believe, a loyal preferred subscriber to breathlessly inoffensive programming with modest expectations and goals. ROYAL PAINS fits the bill, perfectly. It stands to be a nice, reliable hit for the network, which seems to have abandoned anything of narrative heft in the past few years (shed a tear for the dearly departed 4400, which was like Heroes’ first season all the time) in favor of characters with marketable personalities. (If doesn’t manage to take off? Then it just finishes its run, and goes away, to be forgotten and replaced with something equally innocuous.) And why not? Isn’t there a saying for trying to fix what isn’t broken? Grade: C+

ROYAL PAINS premieres tonight at 10PM on USA Network