Executive produced by Angie Tribeca star Rashida Jones, Claws centers on Desna (Niecy Nash, pictured at top right), who owns a quality South Florida nail salon with her three best friends. Each member of this eclectic quartet has a uniquely appealing style of her own, with Desna serving as the fierce mama bear who runs their operation and protects her family-like crew. Besides Desna, the group includes Jen (Jenn Lyon), Quiet Ann (Judy Reyes of Scrubs) and Polly (the always amazing Carrie Preston of True BloodandThe Good Fight, pictured at top left).
Jen is the modern-day iteration of the classic southern wife and mother trope. She does nails in the shop and her loyalty to her husband and two daughters is only rivaled by her loyalty to Desna and the crew, and she takes no shit. Polly also does nails at the shop and is the redheaded member of their crew who has just returned from being … away, for a bit. Her soft-spoken delivery is almost innocent in nature, but like her past there’s more to her than meets the eye.
Then there’s my personal favorite, Quiet Ann. Reyes’s transformation into this particularly butch character is as astonishing as it is convincing. She’s the muscle in the mix, serving as both foot masseuse and security guard for the salon. In contrast with the rest of the group, she dresses in more male-centric clothing and doesn’t talk a whole lot, but my favorite of her traits is how unapologetically Latina she is. (Reyes talked with Jackie Cutler of MediaVillage.com about playing this lively character.)
There’s a scene in the pilot in which, as they open the salon, Quiet Ann turns on the radio and begins lip-syncing and dancing to a bachata song (and properly, I might add). In that moment it occurred to me that I’d never seen someone do that on American television before. When it comes to representation in American media, most Latin and Spanish-speaking cultures are combined into some sort of amalgamation meant to represent them all in a half-assed manner. It meant a lot to me that such a specifically cultural action was given the spotlight, no matter how brief the moment was.