RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
'Claws' is a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a South Florida nail salon. It follows the rise of five diverse, strange, 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. 'Claws' is about good women caught in bad places with worse men. It's the story of hardworking women trying to get by in this economy, set against the surreal, bright, gritty landscape of Florida and the luscious, absurd, extreme excesses of the crime world.
The series was created by Eliot Laurence (Welcome to Me) and the pilot was directed by Nicole Kassell (The Leftovers, Rectify). Janine Sherman Barrois (ER) serves as showrunner.
The 10 episode first season will premiere on Sunday, June 11 at 9/8c.
Cast
- At the center is salon owner Desna, who lives with and cares for her mentally ill twin brother, Dean.
- Jennifer is Desna's best friend and a tenuously sober ex-party girl raising two children from previous relationships.
- Virginia is bored and impatient with her job, and makes no effort to hide it.
- Polly, a mild-mannered preppy who recently served time in prison for identity theft.
- Quiet Ann, Desna's enigmatic driver who also provides security for the salon.
- Adding chaos to the Nail Artisan mix is Roller, a gangstered-out redneck who runs a barely legal pain clinic and uses Desna's nail salon to launder their obscene profits.
Other cast members include:
- Harold Perrineau as Dean, Desna's mentally ill twin brother.
- Dean Norris as Uncle Daddy, a dangerous Dixie Mafia crime boss who is deeply Catholic and actively bisexual.
- Kevin Rankin as Bryce, Jennifer's husband who is also newly sober and trying to stay legit by working as an abundance coach.
- Jason Antoon as Dr. Ken Brickman, a bona fide doctor at a decidedly un-bona fide drug clinic.
Videos
Official Trailer
Promo Photos
Reviews
Variety said:There is something uniquely and pervasively raw about Floridian life — whether that is the alarming number of strip clubs per capita, the unrelentingly hot sun, or the population's odd obsession with alligators. ”Claws" gloms onto the landscape with surprising ease, riffing on Florida's self-conscious trashiness (”WE SELL BIG SHRIMPS," reads a sign outside the salon) and its gloriously unlikely cultural mashups. For its unique details alone, it's thrilling.
The Hollywood Reporter said:If you wanted to see a TV series adaptation of Harmony Korine's film Spring Breakers set in the world of nail salons, then TNT's Claws comes close.
Newsday said:Despite this setting and these tropes and especially despite Nash and the rest of the good supporting cast, Claws doesn't work. The brush strokes are way too broad, the tone too slapdash.
New Orleans Times-Picayune said:There is sex. There is violence. There is strong language.
But along with all that, there's also a dark vein of humor and, more importantly, an unflagging sense of urgency and suspense to keep things moving.
"Claws" is good television, at least at first blush. TNT has sent over only three of the first season's 10 episodes for review so far, but I can't wait to sink my claws into the other seven.
L+SD Ratings
Episode 1 - 1.2 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating
Episode 2 - 1.2 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating
Episode 3 - 1.1 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating
Episode 4 - 1.2 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating
Episode 5 - 1.2 million and a 0.4 18-49 rating
Episode 6 - 1.3 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating
Episode 7 - 1.3 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating
Episode 8 - 1.6 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating
Episode 9 - 1.3 million and a 0.5 18-49 rating
Episode 10 - 1.6 million and a 0.6 18-49 rating