Claws

Premise

Five manicurists at the Nail Artisans salon of Manatee County, Florida, enter the traditionally male world of organized crime when they begin laundering money for a neighboring pain clinic and eventually work their way up to controlling their own criminal empire.

Cast

Main

Niecy Nash as Desna Simms: the owner of Nail Artisans, a nail salon in Manatee County, Florida, and an associate of the Husser family. She launders money for one of their most profitable pill mills, so she can save up and buy a better salon. She is in a relationship with Roller Husser, the adopted son of his uncle, Uncle Daddy. When Uncle Daddy withholds some of her earnings, she blames Roller. She and Virginia, with whom he was cheating on Desna, attempt to kill him. It is later revealed that Desna and her brother, Dean, spent their childhoods with abusive foster parents, explaining why she's so determined to build a life for herself. She eventually gets permission to leave the mob but is subsequently forced to continue laundering money for the Russian mafia Desna ultimately sets out to build her own crime family after her brother kills the head of the Russian mob.

Carrie Preston as Polly Marks: a redheaded North Carolinian who helps manage Desna's criminal enterprises. A former professional con artist, pathological liar, and skilled burglar, she only recently made parole for running a Social Security fraud scheme. Her relationship with Desna is one of absolute loyalty; she even threatens Virginia with a knife when she nearly implicates Desna in Roller's "death". She also forms a motherly bond with Marnie, an adolescent girl seeking to escape her own neglectful mother, who is trying to force Marnie into prostitution. Preston also portrays Lillian Marks, Polly's twin sister who pressures her to own up to her mistakes.

Judy Reyes as Annalise "Quiet Ann" Zayas: the salon's lookout, doorman, and Desna's enforcer. She is college-educated, with plans to become a teacher, but her career was ruined when she was convicted of attempting to murder her husband after he stabbed her girlfriend. Ann, openly bisexual, has difficulty balancing her relationships with her role in the mafia, especially when she falls for a female police detective investigating the salon with whom she later breaks up. Later at the end of the third season, she has sex with a handsome guy she encounters at the party, which leads to an unexpected pregnancy.

Karrueche Tran as Virginia Loc: a former stripper for Uncle Daddy's strip club, She She's, but now works at Nail Artisans. Desna fires her and throws her out in disgust after finding out she is sleeping around with Roller and suspecting that Virginia was the one who told Roller about Polly's ankle bracelet. Eventually, Virginia is accepted when she shoots Roller to defend Desna and proves her willingness to master the manicurist's trade. Later, she becomes pregnant after having sex with Dean, but goes through with an abortion and says yes when he asks to marry her. A failed assassination attempt causes her to lose an eye; the transplant, taken from a practicing psychic, gives Virginia empathetic abilities. She now runs the salon on Desna's behalf.

Recurring

Dale Dickey as Juanda "Auntie Mama" Husser (seasons 1–2 & 4): Clay's wife who was killed by the Russians in the first season's finale. She appears as hallucinations to Clay in seasons 2 and 4.

Hunter Burke as Hank Gluck (seasons 1–2): the owner of the Jewish cafeteria in Palmetto and a former sexual partner to Jennifer Husser. He is stabbed dead by her husband Bryce after signing over his property to the Hussers.

Andrea Sooch as Riva (seasons 1–3): head of a powerful Russian mob family that does business in Florida. She's killed by her sister Zlata in the season 2 premiere.

Franka Potente as Zlata Ostrovsky (season 2): the newly reformed, former black sheep daughter of a powerful Russian mob family that does business in Florida. She kills her sister Riva and assumes control of the Husser family's criminal interests, while also taking Desna under her wing. However, this is secretly a ruse to allow the Russians to seize the assets of the Haitian mafia. Zlata then tries to kill Desna, only to be shot dead by her brother Dean.

Katherine Reis as Olga Ostrovsky (season 2): Zlata's daughter whom Roller was forced to marry. Despite their relationship being an arrangement, Olga develops real feelings for Roller over time, only for him to kick her out when she tips off Ruval to Desna plotting against him.

Sheryl Lee Ralph as Matilde Ruval (season 2): the Haitian mother of Gregory, who runs a charity for orphaned girls. Although she appears to be disabled, this turns out to be false when she confronts Desna following her son's murder. Zlata then shoots Matilde and leaves her to bleed to death.

Sherry Cola as Lucy Chen (seasons 2–3): a classified special agent working alongside Arlene to bring down the Russians.

Glynn Turman as Calvin (season 3), Desna's and Dean's estranged father who comes back into their lives trying to make amends after turning his life around from drug addictions

Episodes

Development

Filming

On March 12, 2020, Warner Bros. Television shut down production on the series' fourth and final season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming resumed on September 21, 2020, and concluded on November 30, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

The first season of Claws has received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 82% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 6.69/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Well-acted, visually impressive, and energetically paced, Claws leaves a mark with a strong first season that hints at even greater potential." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Variety described the show as aesthetically captivating but with weak storytelling. Season 2 has an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.6/10 based on 8 reviews.