‘Royal Pains’ season 7 spoilers: Meet Hank’s upcoming transgender patient

If you have been reading some of our “Royal Pains” articles as of late, you may remember that an upcoming episode next week is going to feature Hank treating a transgender patient. It is a groundbreaking story for this show, and we’ve also learned now that the person playing this role is someone you may have seen in the headlines before.

As confirmed by a report from E! News, transgender teenager Nicole Maines is set to play the character of Anna. Maines won a discrimination lawsuit against her school after she was forced to use a staff restroom. At the time, it was a significant case in that it was one of the first major rulings on a state regarding a transgender person using the restroom of the gender in which they identify with.

We were not entirely aware before now that Maines had much in the way of acting ambition, but in a statement she was extremely grateful for the opportunity to take part in the series:

“Playing Anna on Royal Pains was an incredible experience and the amount of warmth and encouragement that I received from the cast and crew was so unexpected, but welcome … Everyone’s words were so supportive and kind and they really made me feel part of the cast immediately, and made my very first television acting experience a pleasure—one I will remember forever.”

This may only be a one-episode gig for now, but we will see what the reaction is to Anna after the fact. One of the great things about this show is that most of Hank’s patients survive, so it is very well possible that she will turn up again in the future.