Transgender teen Nicole Maines to guest star on 'Royal Pains'

Transgender teen activist Nicole Maines is to make her acting debut as a guest star on Tuesday's edition of Royal Pains, USA Network announced.

Maines will play Anna, a transgender choreographer whom Mark Feuerstein's doctor character Hank treats, soon discovering some of the hormones she is taking for her transition may be endangering her health.

USA Network said it has partnered with PFLAG -- an organization that unites families, friends and allies of people who are LGBTQ -- to raise awareness of people who are transgender and to provide support and resources to viewers.

Maines is a 17-year-old high-school student who won a landmark transgender rights case in Maine last year. This was the first time a state court ruled transgender students be allowed to use public bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

"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," Maines said in a statement. "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."

"The Maines' family story has been a journey of love, education, acceptance and celebration, but initially they thought they were on this path alone. Now, as part of the extended PFLAG family, we are so proud to see Nicole step confidently into this challenging and groundbreaking role on Royal Pains," added Elizabeth R. Kohm, deputy executive director of PFLAG National. "With the visibility of people who are transgender at an all-time high, it is more important than ever that PFLAG's support and educational resources are easy to find and readily available. We are thrilled to partner with our friends at USA Network on a public service announcement to bring that important, and potentially life-saving, information to its viewers."