Why did Jill Flint leave Royal Pains? (The reason Jill left the show)

When Royal Pains premiered on the USA Network in June 2009, there were a handful of main characters who were integral to the show. Of course, there's Hank Lawson, the disgraced ER doctor who becomes a concierge doctor to the wealthy residents of the Hamptons; his ambitious and unserious brother Evan; and Divya, Hank's loyal and determined physician's assistant.

The cast also included Jill Flint as Jill Casey, initially an administrator at the local Hamptons Heritage Hospital, who Hank frequently works with and begins an on-again/off-again relationship. While the pair have an apparent connection personally and professionally, there's an eventual disconnect that leads Jill to leave the Hamptons in favor of relief work in Africa.

In the fourth season of Royal Pains, Jill leaves after the third episode, "A Guesthouse Divided." But what were the reasons behind Flint's departure? Did the actress want to leave the series, or had the writers run out of options for the character? Here's what has been said about the reasons behind the choice for the character Jill and the actress Jill to leave the show.

Why Jill was written out of Royal Pains

Speaking with TV Guide in June 2012, following the airing of Flint's last appearance in season 4, executive producers Andrew Lenchewski and Michael Rauch gave some insight into the choices they made with Jill's character. As it turns out, Jill leaving the series had more to do with the direction of the story rather than Flint wanting to leave Royal Pains.

Even though the executive producers had previously been intent on carrying out a "will-they-or-won't-they" storyline, they felt it was more genuine for Jill to ultimately follow her dreams and passions to work in Africa. That would be more authentic to her character. They reached this decision while planning season 4; it hadn't been something previously planned.

Here's the key takeaway about the reason she left the show:

"We tried very hard to keep Jill woven into the storytelling and a big part of that was her connection to Hank and her connection to the clinic. Once we decided that the Hank-Jill relationship wasn't something we wanted to keep playing, it felt like it was time to fulfill the promise we had made many, many episodes ago."

- Michael Rauch

According to the executive producers, when they broke the news to Flint about her character leaving the Hamptons, she reacted with "extreme grace and elegance and kindness," though she was still disappointed and sad to be leaving the series. They described the departure as "bittersweet," though they kept the door open for Jill to return even after filming her final scene on location in South Africa.

Although it took a little bit longer than fans would have wanted, Jill did return to Royal Pains for its eighth and final season. She and Hank got back together and worked together in Africa. The series finale revealed that they officially got married and planned to spend time in the Hamptons. We might not have gotten to spend a lot of time with Jill after season 4, but she and Hank still got their happy ending.

All eight seasons of Royal Pains are currently available to stream on Netflix.