TNT Moves Up Premiere of Fourth & Final Season of Judy Reyes’ “Claws” By a Week

Judy Reyes’ claws will be coming out earlier than expected…

 TNT has moved up the premiere date of the fourth and final season of Claws, starring the 54-year-old Dominican American actress.

Judy Reyes, ClawsThe final season will now kick off with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, December 19 at 9:00 pm, the network has announced. \

It was previously scheduled a week later, on Sunday, December 26.

The dark comedy follows Niecy Nash-Betts’ Desna Simms, who, alongside her crew of manicurists from the Nail Artisans of Manatee County salon, rises to power in the crime world to claim her share of cash and respect.

Co-stars include Reyes, Carrie Preston, Karrueche Tran, Jenn Lyon, Kevin Rankin, Jason Antoon, Harold Perrineau and Dean Norris.

“Over the seasons the friendships have deepened and the character of Polly has deepened thanks to the support of the women around her that helped her through some tough times and brought her to a stronger place,” Preston said of her character. “She has more confidence. She’s still going to con her way through things but at least she’s got the support of her friends.”

Tran, who plays Virginia in the series, looks back at far how her character has come and what she’s facing as the show prepares for its last hurrah.

“Virginia started off as a stripper, and the main thing about her has been her growth and her maturity,” Tran shared. “Towards the end of the season, she starts to get into the business side of things and really starts to become a grown-up. All while seeing all these layers pulled back and you’ll learn more about who she is and where she’s from. She’s also still looking for love but also finding the love within herself.”

Tran was also trying not to give away too much about Virginia’s special abilities, but she revealed a little teaser regarding what’s ahead.

“I don’t want to spoil it, but this is something we had a conversation about with the writers,” she said. “I will say it’s something that I really wanted to keep. … You’re going to have to watch Season 4.”

Jennifer Lyon also looked back on how her character Jen has come since the series premiere and where she’s headed now.

“For Jen, in the beginning, she was so ‘ride or die,’ and as the series progressed, she realized that riding or dying shouldn’t be the only two choices,” Lyon shared. “Is there something in the middle where I could live a life with my family safe, stay sober, love my girlfriends? Her journey of, ‘Can I be a saint in the city?’ continues to progress and at the end of the season you get the answer to that.”

Reyes celebrates Quiet Ann’s progress and laments her struggles.

“Quiet Ann started as the muscle and security for the group, she was just happy to be around and have an opportunity to take care of and learn from these women,” Reyes said. “And she was quiet, all of this has changed and progressed as the series has gone along. She’s found love and lost love and the bond that she had with the women was severed by the conflicts with Desna. I think we’ll see what the result of her having lost the love of her life.”

Claws is executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, series creator Eliot Laurence, and showrunners Sharon Lee Watson and Emily Silver.

The series is produced for TNT by Jones and McCormack’s Le Train Train in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Chita Rivera Among the Stars Taking Part in Fundraising Concert for Joe Biden, “In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nation”

Chita Rivera is Biden her time before the upcoming presidential election…

The 87-year-old half-Puerto Rican Broadway star will be among the stars of the Great White Way who’ll stage a fundraising concert for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, with plans to stream the event on October 21.

Chita Rivera

The event, which starts at 8:00 pm ET, is organized by the group Broadway for Biden and is called In Our America: A Concert for the Soul of the Nationwith donations going to the Biden Victory Fund.

In addition to Rivera, the lineup of the concert includes Derrick Baskin, Laura Benanti, Victoria Clark, Glenn Close, Chuck Cooper, Darren Criss, André De Shields, Renée Elise Goldsberry, John Goodman, Jayne Houdyshell, Jennifer Hudson, James Monroe Iglehart, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Norman Lear, Norm Lewis, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Karen Olivo, Ashley Park, Steven Pasquale, Carrie Preston, Kelani Queypo, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Phillipa Soo, Ephraim Sykes, BD Wong, the Broadway Dreams Foundation Choir, and the casts of Six and KPOP.

Liesl Tommy, director of the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect (with Hudson in the lead role), will direct the show. Tommy is the executive producer along with Julie Boardman, Nolan Doran, Halle Morse, and Jennifer Mudge.

The concert will stream on YouTube via news publisher NowThis, on Facebook via Broadway for Biden and NowThis, and on Broadway Unlocked.

In a statement, Tommy said, “It is a tremendous honor to direct this incredible collective of performers and artists, who are coming together to amplify the promise of Broadway and a nation that are future-looking, accessible, and deeply inclusive.”

The evening will include original material, stagings of musical numbers that have never been seen, and previews of productions bound for Broadway. Among those contributing are Chad Beguelin, Tony Kushner, Lynn Nottage, Robert O’Hara, Stacey Rose, Aurin Squire, DeLanna Studi, Paula Vogel and John Waters.

Christopher Gattelli, Lorin Latarro, Ray Mercer, and Abbey O’Brien will provide original choreography, with music direction by Jason Michael Webb. Chris Boardman and Charlie Rosen will provide orchestrations. Sean McLaughlin will serve as director of photography and Grady Bowman will be associate choreographer.

The event is in the vein of a fundraiser in 2012 for Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, called Barack on Broadway, that was produced by Margo Lion and others.

TNT Releases Trailer for Reyes’ Dramedy “Claws”

Judy Reyes is clawing her way back into television…

TNT has released a new trailer for Claws, starring the 49-year-old Dominican American actress.

Judy Reyes,

The dramedy, which also stars Niecy Nash, will premiere on June 11 premiere.

TNT describes the hourlong show as “a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a Central Florida nail salon, where there is a lot more going on than silk wraps and pedicures.”

Written/co-executive produced by Eliot Laurence and directed by Nicole Kassell, Claws follows the rise of five diverse and treacherous manicurists working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County. In addition to Reyes and Nash, the series also stars Carrie Preston, Harold Perrineau, Jenn Lyon, Jack Kesy, Karrueche Tran, Kevin Rankin and Jason Antoon co-star.

“This is a show with great storytelling featuring empowered female characters and brought to life by a diverse group of incredibly talented individuals both in front of and behind the camera,” Sarah Aubrey, EVP Original Programming for TNT, said upon’s the show’s 10-episode pickup.

The series hails from executive producers Rashida Jones, Will McCormack and Janine Sherman Barrois, who serves as showrunner. Jones and McCormack’s Le Train Train produces in association with Warner Horizon Television and Turner’s Studio T.

Royo Lands Recurring Role on Showtime’s Comedy Pilot “Happyish”

Andre Royo has reason to be happyish

The 46-year-old Afro-Cuban American actor has landed a recurring role on Showtime’s comedy pilot Happyish as a recurring.

Andre Royo

Described as a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness, Happyish centers on Thom Payne (portrayed by Steve Coogan) – a 44-year-old man whose world is thrown into disarray when his 25-year-old “wunderkind” boss arrives. Kathryn Hahn and Bradley Whitford co-star, with Carrie Preston and Molly Price on board in recurring roles.

Royo, best known for his role as Reginald “Bubbles” Cousins on HBO’s The Wire, will portray Barry, a former corporate lawyer who followed his heart to the Family Court, only to find it even more depressing than Corporate Law was.

His other television credits include appearances on Fringe, Party Down and How to Make It in America.