EXCLUSIVE: TNT dramedy Claws has paused filming its fourth and final season for the next 14 days due to a team member testing positive for COVID-19. According to sources, the asymptomatic diagnosis was confirmed as a result of required and ongoing testing for all employees on productions of Warner Bros. TV, the studio behind Claws. The decision on a two-week shutdown was made out of abundance of caution.
Production on Season 4 of Claws was well underway in New Orleans when all Hollywood production was halted in March amid the growing coronavirus pandemic. Filming recently resumed and is slated to wrap in December.
Since its launch in 2017, Claws has won critical praise and a loyal fan base. It follows Niecy Nash’s 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.
In addition to Nash, Claws stars Carrie Preston, Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, Jenn Lyon, Kevin Rankin, Jason Antoon, Harold Perrineau and Dean Norris.
Claws is executive-produced by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Janine Sherman Barrois, 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 TV.
Claws joins a number of scripted series that have paused production due to positive COVID-19 tests, including CBS’ Young Sheldon, Disney+’s Big Shot and the CW’s All American, which all paused filming for a day, as well as HBO’s The Gilded Age, Nat Geo’s Genius: Aretha, Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla, NBC’s Chicago Med, Fox’s The Resident, Peacock’s Rutherford Falls, ABC’s For the People and daytime drama Days Of Our Lives.