‘Claws’ Star Niecy Nash Talks Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Season 2 Casting

Sheryl Lee Ralph’s friendship with Niecy Nash helped her land a role in Season 2 of “Claws.”

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Nash, who plays Desna Simms on the Eliot Laurence-created series, recalled her first meeting with Ralph and shared how their friendly ties eventually led to the latter’s addition to the cast of the TNT drama.

“Sheryl Lee and I met because she came up to me at a studio once,” Nash started. “We’re in the same building, and somebody behind me said, ‘Darling!’ And I spun around, and it was her. She said, ‘Can you clean my house?’ And I said, ‘Indeed, I can.’”

“So I take my show (“Clean House”) [and] go to her house,” the Emmy-nominated actress continued. “We sell her ‘Dreamgirls’ memorabilia. We sell all these clothes. She had enough wigs for a small village. We sell all of her things [that] she and I became fast friends. I was the maid of honor in her wedding. She was the matron of honor in my wedding. And then when we got at this point on the show ‘Claws,’ I went to the powers that be, and I suggested to our creator Eliot Laurence … what if there was this larger than wife woman …. He leaned all the way into it, loved it, and now she’s a part of our Season 2.”

As reported by Deadline last February, Ralph will play the recurring role of Matilde Ruval, the mother of Desna’s (Nash) love interest and Haitian drug lord Dr. Gregory Ruval (Jimmy Jean-Louis). Though Matilde appears to be a typical benevolent and caring mother to her son, there’s more going on with her than meets the eye.

In an interview with TVInsider, Nash said that Matilde is a “frenemy” of Desna and her crew. “[She’s] nice-nasty [like] when somebody is nice but they’ve got a little twang on the end of them,” she said.

When asked what fans can expect from Desna next season, Nash told the Los Angeles Times: “In Season 1, Desna very much wanted to get out. And I think Season 2, she’s just leaning in. It’s like, if this is my lot in life, let me stop trying to act like I’m not as good at this as I know I am. And if I’m going to be in it, I’m going to be mixed all the way up to the top.”

“Claws” Season 2 premieres on Sunday, June 10 at 9 p.m. EDT on TNT.