Niecy Nash Talks Season 2 of “Claws,” Press-Ons and Getting Her Hollywood Star

Niecy Nash on Season 2 of Claws © Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.

When Niecy Nash was 9 years old, she had a chance run-in with Ed Asner on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Recognizing him, she excitedly exclaimed, “I know you!” And then she told him her plans. “I’m gonna be famous one day, and my name is gonna be right here on the ground. My name is Niecy!” Well, that very young Niecy knew what she was talking about, as next month (July 11), the former Reno 911! and current Claws star will be honored with her own star on Hollywood’s famed boulevard. Here Nash helps us decompress the epic Season 1 finale of Claws and gives us her insights on where things are headed for the sophomore season. Claws returns to TNT Sunday, June 10 at 9/8c.

Let’s get the girly stuff out of the way. This season it’s all about press-ons, no more acrylic nails.
Niecy Nash: The first season everything was custom, everything was acrylic. It took a lot to pull that off. This go-around everything is custom press-on. Now, getting my nails done is the thing that takes the least amount of time, to be honest.

While Niecy’s own wardrobe has provided inspiration for her character Desna, this season we’ll notice a change.
First season they would go through my personal Instagram and be like, “What about something like this?” And I was like, “So you just want me to bring my real clothes to work?” I didn’t realize that Desna and I — in their minds — had so much in common. For Season 2, I think they pretty much got a handle on her style and her vibe, and it’s a little elevated because Desna’s making money now, which is different than when the Dixie Mafia had control over us, and we were getting pinched.

After the shocking showdown with the Russians that left Juanda (Dale Dickey) dead and Uncle Daddy (Dean Norris) and Desna agreeing to 100 percent of their business going to Riva (Andrea Sooch) in exchange for Jen’s (Jenn Lyon) daughter, we originally thought we knew where Season 2 might head. But, then they hit us with that final jaw-dropper, which revealed that Desna’s main squeeze Dr. Ruval (Jimmy Jean-Louis, “The Haitian” on Heroes) really wasn’t who she thought he was. What’s going on?!?
Going into Season 2, we pick up the story a month after the Russians have taken over. We’ve been back for a month. I think initially you find Desna at a place of resolve. This is my life. And I made a deal with these people based on trying to save Jen’s daughter, which all kind of unraveled at my hands, so I feel so much responsibility, so much guilt, to try to make the best out of the situation that I’m in. Not to give it all away, but I hang out with a very unlikely mentor. And this mentor really gives me insight of how to be a boss and how to gain respect. And it’s through that relationship that a lot of the unraveling takes place in Season 2. And just like viewers found out that Dr. Ruval really wasn’t what he’s saying … it takes a while for Desna to see it.

Desna’s driving force has always been taking care of her autistic brother Dean (Harold Perrineau). So when Dean tells her to stop making stupid choices, she takes it to heart as best as she can.
I think more than anything Desna is caught in a tight place because she’s doing the wrong thing for what she’s perceiving to be the right reason. In order to get her brother a house with no mold and to get him into the things that they never had when they were growing up in foster care, she’s made a lot of missteps. … It’s a catch-22 because she wants to do things the right way, but she can’t, in her mind, give him what he needs on that track. … And now she’s sucked into [her criminal dealings] in such a way that they won’t let her out.