ABFF 2017 – Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, & Showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois Talk TNT’s ClawsPosted by Wilson Morales
July 2, 2017
During the 2017 American Black Film Festival (ABFF), Blackfilm.com had the opportunity to speak with TNT’s Claws actresses Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran and its show runner Janine Sherman Barrois.
“Claws” currently airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).
Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, Harold Perrineau, Jenn Lyon, Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, Jason Antoon, Kevin Rankin, Jack Kesy and Dean Norris star in the hour-long dramedy.
Claws is executive-produced by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Janine Sherman Barrois, and director Howard Deutch. Creator and co-executive producer Eliot Laurence wrote the pilot, which was directed by Nicole Kassell. Claws is produced by Jones and McCormack’s Le Train Train, in association with Warner Horizon Television and Turner’s Studio T.
Described as a “midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a South Florida nail salon,” the series follows the rise of five diverse and treacherous manicurists working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County salon, where there is a lot more going on than silk wraps and pedicures.
At the center is salon owner Desna (played by Niecy Nash), who lives with and cares for her mentally ill twin brother, Dean (played by Harold Perrineau). Desna’s staff includes best friend Jennifer (Jenn Lyon), a tenuously sober ex-party girl raising two children from previous relationships; Quiet Ann (Judy Reyes), Desna’s enigmatic driver who also provides security for the salon; Polly (Carrie Preston), a mild-mannered preppy who recently served time in prison for identity theft; and Virginia (Karrueche Tran), who makes no effort to hide her boredom and impatience with her job.
Adding chaos to the Nail Artisan mix is Roller (Jack Kesy), a gangstered-out redneck who runs a barely legal pain clinic and uses Desna’s nail salon to launder their obscene profits; Bryce (Kevin Rankin), Jennifer’s husband who is also newly sober and trying to stay legit by working as an abundance coach; Dr. Ken Brickman (Jason Antoon), a bona fide doctor at a decidedly un-bona fide drug clinic; and Uncle Daddy (Dean Norris), a dangerous Dixie Mafia crime boss who is deeply Catholic and actively bisexual.
Trailer
Claws: Girls in the Salon
ABFF Interview with Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, & Showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois
