TNT's CLAWS to Stream on Twitter Following Sunday's Series Launch

Turner's TNT has announced that the premiere episode of its new drama CLAWS will stream on Twitter following the series' launch on TNT. Set in a Central Florida nail salon and featuring an ensemble cast headed by Niecy Nash (Getting On, The Soul Man), CLAWS is slated to premiere Sunday, June 11, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) across TNT's platforms. Twitter will then stream an encore of the premiere episode at 10 pm. (ET), marking the platform's first ever streaming of a basic cable drama. Fans on Twitter in the United States will be able to access THE STREAM and a curated timeline of show-related Tweets by going to claws.twitter.com, as well as via the @ClawsTNT Twitter handle.

Twitter will also play a key role during TNT's 9 p.m. premiere of Claws, during which Nash and fellow cast members Carrie Preston (True Blood), Jenn Lyon (Justified), Judy Reyes (Scrubs) and Karrueche Tran (The Nice Guys) will live Tweet along with the show and engage with fans as the suspense unfolds. They will be Tweeting from New Orleans, where the series is filmed, using #ClawsTNT.

Viewers who miss out on the TNT premiere of CLAWS or its Twitter encore will be able to watch the series' opening episode through tntdrama.com, TNT On Demand and the TNT mobile app, as well as through primetime encores airing throughout the week on TNT.

Twitter's encore of CLAWS is its second such collaboration with a Turner network. On April 29, Twitter streamed an encore of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee's "Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner" following the one-hour comedy special's premiere on Turner's TBS.

"As we saw with our FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE special in April, a streaming encore on Twitter has the power to reach new audiences and catch the attention of viewers who might not otherwise have sampled our show," said Michael Engleman, executive vice president of entertainment marketing and brand innovation. "By giving viewers the opportunity to watch the premiere episode of CLAWS on Twitter, we're helping this terrific series build a strong fan base across the entirety of the season, and we're establishing a meaningful connection with those fans through social media engagement."

"We are excited to collaborate again with Turner to help them reach new audiences on Twitter," said Anthony Noto, Twitter COO. "Fans will be able to watch the video of the highly anticipated premiere of CLAWS and Tweet along with viewers and the cast all on the same platform."

About CLAWS TNT's CLAWS is a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a Central Florida nail salon. Niecy Nash (Getting On, The Soul Man), Carrie Preston (True Blood), Harold Perrineau (Lost, Oz), Jenn Lyon (Justified), Judy Reyes (Scrubs), Karrueche Tran (The Nice Guys), Jason Antoon (Famous in Love), Kevin Rankin (Dallas Buyers Club, Friday Night Lights), Jack Kesy (The Strain) and Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) star in the hour-long dramedy, which is slated to launch across TNT's television, mobile and digital platforms on Sunday, June 11, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), followed by an encore presentation on Twitter at 10 p.m. (ET).

Claws follows the rise of five diverse and treacherous manicurists working at the Nail Artisan of Manatee County salon, where there is a lot more going on than SILK wraps and pedicures. At the center is salon owner Desna (Niecy Nash), who lives with and cares for her mentally ill twin brother, Dean (Harold Perrineau). Desna's staff includes best friend Jennifer (Jenn Lyon), a tenuously sober ex-party girl raising two children from previous relationships; Quiet Ann (Judy Reyes), Desna's enigmatic driver who also provides security for the salon; Polly (Carrie Preston), a mild-mannered preppy who recently served time in prison for identity theft; and Virginia (Karrueche Tran), who makes no effort to hide her boredom and impatience with her job.

Adding chaos to the Nail Artisan mix is Roller (Jack Kesy), a gangstered-out redneck who runs a barely legal pain clinic and uses Desna's nail salon to launder their obscene profits; Bryce (Kevin Rankin), Jennifer's husband who is also newly sober and trying to stay legit by working as an abundance coach; DR. KEN Brickman (Jason Antoon), a bona fide doctor at a decidedly un-bona fide drug clinic; and Uncle Daddy (Dean Norris), a dangerous Dixie Mafia crime boss who is deeply Catholic and actively bisexual.

Claws is executive-produced by Rashida Jones (Angie Tribeca, Toy Story 4, Celeste and Jesse Forever, A to Z,), Will McCormack (Toy Story 4, Celeste and Jesse Forever, A to Z), Janine Sherman Barrois (ER, Criminal Minds), who also serves as showrunner, and director Howard Deutch (True Blood, Pretty in Pink). Creator and co-executive producer Eliot Laurence (Welcome to Me) wrote the pilot, which was directed by Nicole Kassell (The Americans, The Leftovers). CLAWS is produced by Jones and McCormack's Le Train Train, in association with Warner Horizon Television and Turner's Studio T.

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