Actor with Morgan City ties stars in TNT’s “Claws”

An actor who spent part of his childhood in Morgan City is one of the stars in the TNT show “Claws,” which was recently renewed for a second season. The show is filmed in the New Orleans area.

Delta Blues Productions LLC, an affiliate of Warner Horizon Scripted Television and part of Warner Bros. Entertainment, is resuming production on “Claws,” a TV show on TNT, and has begun filming in Louisiana for a second season, a Louisiana Economic Development news release said.

The show will return to TV this summer.

Kevin Rankin, who’s among the stars of “Claws,” spent a decade living in Morgan City as a child. His parents, Tom and Pam Rankin, still live in Morgan City.

According to TNT’s website, “Claws” is “a midnight-dark, wickedly funny meditation on female badness set in a South Florida nail salon.”

Rankin, 41, plays the role of Bryce Husser and “is an abundance coach and motivational speaker with 37 dollars in his bank account,” the show’s website says. Rankin’s character is also described as “tenuously sober.”

“Claws” is filmed at a soundstage in New Orleans and on location in Westwego, and it focuses on “good women caught in bad places with worse men,” the website says.

“It’s the story of hardworking women trying to get by in this economy, set against the surreal, bright, gritty landscape of Florida and the luscious, absurd, extreme excesses of the crime world,” according to the website.

Other stars of the series include Niecy Nash, Carrie Preston, Harold Perrineau, Jenn Lyon, Judy Reyes, Karrueche Tran, Jason Antoon, Jack Kesy and Dean Norris. The series is executive-produced by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Janine Sherman Barrois and Eliot Laurence.

Rankin has been in the acting business for over 20 years and got his start with a small role opposite Robert Duvall in the 1997 film, “The Apostle.”

Rankin was in the 2017 Academy-Award nominated movie, “Hell or High Water,” alongside Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine. Other movies in which Rankin has had roles include “Wild,” with Reese Witherspoon; “Dallas Buyers Club,” with Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto ; and “White House Down,” alongside Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

He had a starring role in Wayne Kramer’s “Pawn Shop Chronicles,” opposite Matt Dillon and Paul Walker. Rankin’s film credits also include Ang Lee’s “The Hulk” and 20th Century Fox’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” starring opposite Gary Oldman and Jason Clarke.

Rankin made his TV debut in FOX’s Judd Apatow series “Undeclared,” alongside Seth Rogen and Amy Poehler . He’s had recurring roles in many series including FX’s “Justified,” HBO’s “Big Love” and “Six Feet Under,” NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” and the final season of AMC’s Emmy-winning “Breaking Bad.”

Rankin starred in the NBC medical series “Trauma” and the CBS show “Unforgettable.”

The Louisiana Economic Development release also said contemporary drama “Queen Sugar” was renewed for a third season on Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN. “Queen Sugar” is filmed on a farm in Vacherie and at a home in Edgard.

Isaac White, a 2015 Patterson High School graduate, appeared in several episodes of “Queen Sugar” in 2016.

Information from tntdrama.com contributed to this article.