‘Royal Pains’ season 7, episode 4 preview: Hank tries to help transgender teen

Tonight, “Royal Pains” is taking on a story that even still, some other shows have shied away from in issues facing transgender teens. With that being said, the show is also making sure that the story is about more than just that.

Specifically, you find out a little bit about Anna (Nicole Maines) in the sneak peek. Some of the issues that she faces during her transition are everything from health insurance to also the effects of the estrogen she is taking. To go along with that, there is also the issue that she has concealed some of it from her parents, whose support only goes to a certain extent. Hank tries to assist her just as he would any other patient, and this will be a fascinating story to watch since there are so many different layers here and this is also so big in the pop-culture consciousness at the moment.

In some ways, the series was a little fortuitous in the timing of this story. “Transparent” helped to start to bring transgender stories to the national spotlight, but it was really Caitlyn Jenner who did it on a far-reaching level earlier this year. This episode of “Royal Pains” was written and filmed before that famed Vanity Fair cover even came out, so you can say in some ways that the show is ahead of the game.

While Hank tries to help Anna in this episode, tonight will also feature Evan and Paige attempting to deal with some of their latest struggles in their attempts to have a child.