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.
The 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.
Season one of Animal, a nature series from Plimsoll Productions will premiere on Netflix November 10, with the 46-year-old Chilean actor among the narrators.
The show follows eight families of the natural world, including a mother lioness, a wild dog family, a kangaroo joey and a young giant pacific octopus.
Each episode has a high-profile narrator who will bring to life the subjects, including Pascal, Bryan Cranston, Rashida Jones and Rebel Wilson.
The project was almost entirely shot during the pandemic, meaning the team used local camera operators to film in countries that were inaccessible due to travel restrictions.
Series two of the show has already been greenlit by Netflix and will feature narrators including Andy Serkis, Anthony Mackie, David Harbour and Uzo Aduba and will focus on dolphins, bears, birds of prey and apes. That season will premiere in 2022.
The 35-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and her fellow Parks and Recreation cast mates will return to Pawnee, Indiana, for a one-time special amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The half-hour scripted special to benefit Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fundis set to air on Thursday, April 30 at 8:30 pm ET/PT.
All of the original characters from the series will return in the Universal TV-produced special, played by original cast members Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Plaza as April Ludgate, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir, and Retta.
Several guest stars from the Pawnee universe may pop in as well.
The story comes from the events of the day – Pawnee’s most dedicated civil servant, Leslie Knope (Poehler), is determined to stay connected to her friends in a time of social distancing.
“Like a lot of other people, we were looking for ways to help and felt that bringing these characters back for a night could raise some money,” said executive producer Michael Schur. “I sent a hopeful email to the cast and they all got back to me within 45 minutes. Our old ‘Parks and Rec’ team has put together one more 30-minute slice of (quarantined) Pawnee life and we hope everyone enjoys it. And donates!”
The special comes five years after viewers said farewell to the iconic comedy series.
“In such uncertain times, we can’t think of anyone better than Leslie Knope to unite our country with her unbridled enthusiasm and compassion,” said Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta, Co-Presidents of Scripted Programming, NBC Entertainment. “A huge thank you to Mike Schur and the cast of Parks and Recreationfor putting this wonderful special together and bringing a smile to all our faces while raising money for such a worthwhile cause.”
State Farmand Subaru of Americawill each make matching donations of $150,000 and, combined with NBCUniversaland the writers/producers/cast of Parks and Recreation, a total of $500,000 in matching donations will be made through May 21.
Parks and Recreationreceived a Peabody Award for excellence in television programming, an AFIhonor as one of the Top 10 Television Shows of the Yearand several Emmynominations including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing and lead actress for Poehler, who won a Golden Globe for her performance in 2014.
It’s a clean sweep for Sergio Pablos’ acclaimed animated film…
The Spanish animator and screenwriter’s Netflix holiday tale Klauspicked up seven trophies at the 47th annual Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature.
Pablos, who’d previously earned nods for his work on Treasure Planetand Rio, earned three awards. In addition to Best Animated Feature, he won the awards for Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production andDirecting in an Animated Feature Production.
Starring Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmonsand Rashida Jones, Klaus is the story of a selfish postman and a reclusive toymaker who form an unlikely friendship, delivering joy to a cold, dark town that desperately needs it.
The Klaus wipeout throws the Academy Awards racefor a loop, as Netflix’s first original animated feature won all seven categories for which it was nominated.
Pablos’ film dominated over the Big 3 studio mega-grossing sequels — Disney’s Frozen 2, DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 4.
Here’s a look at this year’s Annie Awards winners:
Best Animated Feature: Klaus Best Animated Feature-Independent: I Lost My Body Best Animated Special Production: How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming Best Animated Short Subject: Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days Best Virtual Reality Production: Bonfire Best Animated Television/Media Commercial: The Mystical Journey of Jimmy Page’s ‘59 Telecaster Best Animated Television/Media Production For Preschool Children: Ask The Storybots Episode: Why Do We Have To Recycle? Best Animated Television/Media Production For Children: Disney Mickey Mouse Episode: Carried Away Best General Audience Animated Television/Media Production: BoJack Horseman Episode: The New Client Best Student Film: The Fox & The Pigeon Michelle Chua, Sheridan College Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Media Production: Love, Death & Robots Episode: The Secret War Animated Effects in an Animated Feature Production: Frozen 2 Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production: His Dark Materials Aulo Licinio (Character: lorek) Character Animation In An Animated Feature Production: Klaus Sergio Martins (Character: Alva) Character Animation in a Live Action Production: Avengers: Endgame Character Animation in a Video Game: Unruly Heroes Character Design in an Animated Television/Media Production: Carmen Sandiego Keiko Murayama Episode: The Chasing Paper Caper Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus Torsten Schrank Directing in an Animated Television/Media Production: Disney Mickey Mouse Alonso Ramirez Ramos Episode: For Whom the Booth Tolls Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus Sergio Pablos Music in an Animated Television/Media Production: Love, Death & Robots Rob Cairns Episode: Sonnie’s Edge Music in an Animated Feature Production:I Lost My Body Dan Levy Production Design in an Animated Television/Media Production:Love, Death & Robots Alberto Mielgo Episode: The Witness Production Design In An Animated Feature Production: Klaus Szymon Biernacki, Marcin Jakubowski Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Media Production:Carmen Sandiego Kenny Park Episode: Becoming Carmen Sandiego, Part 1 Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production:Klaus Sergio Pablos Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Media Production: Bob’s Burgers H. Jon Benjamin (Character: Bob) Episode: Roamin’ Bob-iday Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Frozen 2 Josh Gad (Character: Olaf) Writing in an Animated Television/Media Production:Tuca & Bertie Shauna McGarry Episode: The Jelly Lakes Writing in an Animated Feature Production: I Lost My Body Jérémy Clapin, Guillaume Laurant Editorial in an Animated Television/Media Production: Love, Death & Robots Bo Juhl, Stacy Auckland, Valerian Zamel Episode: Alternate Histories Editorial in an Animated Feature Production: Klaus Pablo García Revert
Eighty-six film and television writers have been named finalists for the 2020 HUMANITAS Prize, as announced by HUMANITAS Executive Director Cathleen Young and President Ali LeRoi, with the Spanish animator and screenwriter’s Spanish animated film Klaus making the list.
Klaus, which Pablos wrote and directed, is nominated in the Family Feature Film category.Distributed by Netflix as its first original animated feature, the film was co-written by Zach Lewis and Jim Mahoney. It stars Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones and Joan Cusack and serves as a fictional origin story to the myth of Santa Claus.The plot revolves around a postman stationed in a town to the North who befriends a reclusive toy-maker (Klaus).
Steven Canalshas earned his own Humanitas nod…
The queer Afro-Latinx screenwriter and co-creator of FX’s Pose was named a finalist in the Drama Teleplay category for co-writing the Pose episode “In My Heels,” alongside Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck.
Mario Correa is also being recognized this year…
The Chilean screenwriter and playwright was named a finalist in the Drama Feature Film category for co-writing the screenplay for Dark Waters with Matthew Michael Carnahan; based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich.
The HUMANITAS Prize, now in its 45th year, honors film and television writers whose work inspires compassion, hope, and understanding in the human family.
The finalists are nominated for their work in 10 categories including Comedy Teleplay, Drama Teleplay, Children’s Teleplay, Independent Feature Film, Drama Feature Film, Comedy or Musical Feature Film, Family Feature Film, and Documentary. In addition, this year HUMANITAS has introduced two new categories, Limited Series, TV Movie or Special and Short Film, to reflect the increased significance of those forms in the digital media landscape.
All prize winners will be announced at the 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize event on Friday, January 24, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton Hotelin Beverly Hills, California.
“As we celebrate four and a half decades of empowering, supporting, and honoring storytellers, HUMANITAS continues to evolve and grow to reflect the world around us,” said LeRoi. “This year we have added two new categories to recognize work in forms that have seen dramatic increases in both popularity and artistic merit in the age of streaming and online viewing.”
Added Young: “As our world faces enormous challenges to the goal of peace and love in the human family, which is at the core of HUMANITAS’s mission, it is extremely inspiring to be able to honor the work of so many talented individuals. Intelligent, insightful and compassionate storytelling remains one of the most powerful weapons against hate and intolerance, and our finalists’ work epitomizes those qualities.”
The 45th Annual HUMANITAS Prize finalists are:
Drama Teleplay Category THIS IS US “Our Little Island Girl” Written by Eboni Freeman POSE “In My Heels” Written By Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuck & Steven Canals THE TWILIGHT ZONE “Replay” Written by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds THE HANDMAID’S TALE “Useful” Written by Yahlin Chang; based on the novel by Margaret Atwood
Comedy Teleplay Category SHRILL “Annie” Teleplay by Aidy Bryant & Alexandra Rushfield & Lindy West; based on the book Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West BLACK-ISH “Black Like Us” Written By Peter Saji ATYPICAL “Road Rage Paige” Written By Robia Rashid VEEP “South Carolina” Written By Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck
Limited Series, TV Movie or Special Category WHEN THEY SEE US “Part 4” Teleplay by Ava DuVernay & Michael Starrbury; story by Ava DuVernay TRUE DETECTIVE “Now Am Found” Written by Nic Pizzolatto CHERNOBYL “Vichnaya Pamyat” Written by Craig Mazin LIVE IN FRONT OF A STUDIO AUDIENCE: NORMAL LEAR’S ALL IN THE FAMILY AND THE JEFFERSONS “All in the Family #406: ‘Henry’s Farewell'” Written by Don Nicholl; “The Jeffersons #101: ‘A Friend in Need'” Teleplay by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross & Bernard West, Barry Harman & Harve Brosten; story by Barry Harman & Harve Brosten
Children’s Teleplay Category THE LOUD HOUSE “Racing Hearts” Written by Kevin Sullivan A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS “The Penultimate Peril, Part 1” Teleplay by Joe Tracz; based on the book by Lemony Snicket ELENA OF AVALOR “Changing of the Guard” Written by Kate Kondell NIKO AND THE SWORD OF LIGHT, SEASON 2: NIKO AND THE AMULET OF POWER “The Automatron” Written by Shaene Siders
Drama Feature Film Category A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster; inspired by the article “Can You Say… Hero?” by Tom Junod A HIDDEN LIFE Written and directed by Terrence Malick; source material: letters between Franz and Fani Jagerstatter taken from Franz Jagerstatter: Letters and Writings from Prison edited by Erna Putz DARK WATERS Screenplay by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan; based on the New York Times Magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich BOMBSHELL Written by Charles Randolph
Comedy or Musical Feature Film Category YESTERDAY Story by Richard Curtis, Jack Barth; Written by Richard Curtis THE FAREWELL Written by Lulu Wang JOJO RABBIT Screenplay by Taika Waititi; Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens THE LAUNDROMAT Written by Scott Z. Burns; based on the book Secrecy World by Jake Bernstein
Family Feature Film Category THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON Written by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz FROZEN 2 Story by Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Marc E. Smith, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez; Screenplay by Jennifer Lee TOY STORY 4 Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Josh Cooley, Valerie LaPointe, Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Martin Hynes and Stephany Folsom; Written by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom KLAUS Story by Sergio Pablos; screenplay by Sergio Pablos, Jim Mahoney, Zach Lewis
Independent Feature Film Category END OF SENTENCE by Michael Armbruster HOTEL MUMBAI by John Collee & Anthony Maras BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON Written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo THE BANKER Story by David Lewis Smith & Stan Younger and Brad Caleb Kane; screenplay by Niceole Levy & George Nolfi and David Lewis Smith & Stan Younger
Short Film Category VARIABLES Written by Sabina Vajraca PURL Written by Kristen Lester THE CHARGE FOR THE SUN Story by Terence Nance; screenplay by Eugene Ramos KITBULL Written by Rosana Sullivan
Documentary Category TORN APART: SEPARATED AT THE BORDER Directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS Directed by Jenifer McShane, SEA OF SHADOWS Directed by Richard Ladkani; THIS IS FOOTBALL “Redemption” Directed by James Erskine, Written by John Carlin
The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship Eliana Pipes (Boston University) FAUXRICUA Nick Madson (Boston University) DOWN AND OUT Sheridan Watson (USC) LADY LAZARUS
The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship James Bentley (UCLA) THE PIRATES OF FELLOWSHIP, MAINE King Lu (Columbia) FROM JUNE TO JULY Jennifer Frazin (USC) CHOSEN PEOPLE
New Voices Winners Robert Axelrod, TUCKED Christina Brosman, SACRIFICIAL Jeanine Daniels, CONVOLUTED John Doble, THE AMEN SISTERHOOD Obiageli Odimegwu, THE SHOW Roniel Tessler, BLUE MOON
For more information, visit the HUMANITAS Prize at www.humanitasprize.org.
Christina Aguilera is headed back to the big screen…
The 36-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer has joined the cast of Drake Doremus’ Zoe.
Written by The Beauty Inside’s Rich Greenberg, the futuristic love story follows two colleagues at a revolutionary research lab who design technology to improve and perfect romantic relationships. As their work progresses, their discoveries become more profound than they could ever have imagined.
Aguilera, who made her big screen debut opposite Cher in 2010’s insta-cult classic Burlesque, will star opposite Theo James, Rashida Jones, Miranda Otto, Ewan McGregor and Lea Seydoux in the film, which starts production in Montreal next Monday.
Zoe is being financed by Stuart Ford’s IM Global with Scott Free’s Michael Pruss and Kevin Walsh producing with Doremus and Robert George.
Before breaking onto the music scene with “Genie in the Bottle,” Aguilera—a five-time Grammy winner and recurring The Voice coach—appeared on the television series Star Search and The Mickey Mouse Club.
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.
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.
The 32-year-old Mexican American actor has been cast in ABC’s pilot Mix, from Warner Bros. TV and Rashida Jones and Will McCormack’s studio-based Le Train Train.
The dramedy explores the realities of modern-day families — multi-cultural, multi-generational, built through divorces, affairs and adoptions — set against the backdrop of a revered family restaurant at a crossroads.
Perez will play Mateo, a pediatrician who is Ray and Stella son.
The 43-year-old part-Spanish American actor, who picked up a SAG Award, also known as “The Actor,” last year for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club, will serve as a presenter at Sunday’s 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In addition to Leto, other presenters just added to the roster include Matthew Beard, Colin Farrell, Jeff Goldblum, Allen Leech, Lupita Nyong’o, Emmy Rossum, Andy Samberg, Liev Schreiber and Reese Witherspoon
They join previously announced Patricia Arquette, Adrien Brody, Ellar Coltrane, Kevin Costner, Laverne Cox,Bryan Cranston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eric Dane, Viola Davis, Carrie Fisher, Ethan Hawke, SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard, Felicity Jones, Rashida Jones, Michael Keaton, Lenny Kravitz, Matthew McConaughey, Edward Norton, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Roberts, J.K. Simmons, and Emma Stone.
The SAG Awards will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS at 8:00 pm ET/ 5:00 pm PT.
The final season will now kick off with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, December 19 at 9:00 pm, the network has announced. \
