Posthumous work can be hard to assess, but Clean Slate, executive produced by the great television icon Norman Lear, exudes his trademark warmth and intelligence. The creator of American television sitcoms that came to define the 1970s, including All in the Family, Good Times and The Jeffersons, had only returned to our living rooms in the last decade. He executive produced the feminist remake of his sitcom One Day at a Time, which brought the legendary Rita Moreno back to our screens, and had signed on to Clean Slate at the time of his death. Lear’s trademarks of complicated family relationships, progressive politics and endless empathy are all over his final project, which is a testament to his ability to make television that was fun, funny and radical.
Unlike many of his previous shows, Clean Slate is a multi-camera sitcom with no laugh track; The story follows Desiree Slate (Orange Is the New Black breakout star Laverne Cox), a glamorous art gallery owner who finds herself single, broke, and forced to leave New York to return to her childhood home in Alabama. She moves in with her cantankerous father Harry Slate (stand-up legend George Wallace), who is shocked to learn that his estranged son has transitioned — even though, as she notes, “I’ve always been Desiree.”
Creators: Laverne Cox, Dan Ewen, George Wallace
Stars: Laverne Cox, Jay Wilkison, D.K. Uzoukwu
The reunited pair set out to mend their relationship, and Harry is shocked but immediately open to this new dynamic. Though he often makes mistakes when it comes to pronouns and understanding Desiree’s passion for art, he’s never obnoxious. Harry willingly puts five dollars in a jar every time he accidentally misgendered his offspring, and is defiant toward anyone who questions his transition. The chemistry between the two is charming: Cox delivers witty digs at Beyoncé, while Wallace strikes a perfect balance between joviality and snarky put-downs.
His sharp tongue is frequently attacked by his car-wash colleague, ex-con Mack (Jay Wilkison); Harry reminds him that his recent incarceration is the only interesting thing about him. Mack, in turn, is often accompanied by the typical precocious sitcom teenage daughter, who quickly warms to Desiree after thoughtfully asking her what pronouns she prefers. Also true to classic sitcom form, there's a simmering dilemma between Desiree and Mack.
As sweet and cozy as this show is, it falls short of Hallmark-level sappy. Alabama isn’t always “trying to get along” with its queer inhabitants the way Harry does: bigoted pastor Hughes (Keith Arthur Bolden) meets the identities of Desiree and her queer friend Louis (DK Uzoukwu) with hostility. But Cox is such a charming presence that it’s totally convincing that almost everyone she encounters is charmed by her. The show doesn’t treat Desiree or her transgender status as a curiosity or a punchline, but instead gently pokes fun at her pretentiousness in the art world and her reliance on therapy and astrology.
Cox and Wallace, along with Dan Ewen, are credited as creators of the show, and the sitcom plays to their specific strengths; their characters are very much in line with their public personas of glamorous minx and funny truth-teller, respectively. But, true to Lear’s previous work, this is comedic slapstick grounded in a social conscience, and at times its delivery is clumsy. At its weakest moments, this includes clunky dialogue like, “The best thing you can do is go where you’re wanted and get what you want.”
Still, even when it lacks subtlety, the show’s characters and story are so lovable that it’s impossible to resist its cozy delights. The combination of low-stakes comfort and under-seen representation feels simultaneously like an old-school delight and a refreshing breakthrough. In an age where queer identity is increasingly politicized and threatened, Clean Slate is a welcome antidote — a charming story that allows Cox to show off her innate magnetism.
Her work as an activist and as an actress has been at the forefront of trans representation, and her leading a Prime Video sitcom executive produced by one of the big boys is a testament to the cultural cachet she’s built over the past two decades. Although Norman Lear passed away in late 2023 at the grand old age of 101, before Desiree and Harry's antics were filmed, watching these eight episodes you can't help but feel that he would be proud of the Slate clan and their continuing legacy.
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