WATCH: Laverne Cox’s ‘Clean Slate’ is a small-town sitcom primed to make a big impact
Laverne Cox was born to be a star.
Most of us recognized it the moment she first appeared on Orange Is The New Black in her breakthrough role as incarcerated trans woman Sophia Burset—a role for which she made history as the first trans person Emmy-nominated for acting.
And while she’s continued acting regularly in the decade-plus since—appearing in everything from the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman to the true-crime hit Inventing Anna—she’s also devoted a lot of time to advocacy work, producing, establishing her self as an on-air personality, and becoming a red carpet fashion icon.
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All of which is to say: While we’re always thrilled to see Laverne Cox working in any capacity, it feels like we’ve been waiting for the star vehicle she’s so richly deserved since OITNB.
And it looks like we finally have it with Clean Slate.
In it, Cox plays Desiree, a New York City art gallerist whose job goes belly up, so she decides to return to her Alabama hometown for the first time in 17 years, where she’ll have to come out to her old-school father Harry (comedy icon George Wallace) as trans for the first time.
The two didn’t exactly exactly get along back in the day, and while Harry’s no doubt surprised to see the daughter he once thought of as his “son,” their reunion presents an opportunity for them to take another shot at their relationship. A “clean slate,” if you will…
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Of course, as Desiree re-acclimates to life in her Southern small town, figures from her past resurface, while plenty of new names come into her orbit, too.
For one, there’s her childhood best friend Louis (Insecure‘s D.K. Uzoukwu), now the closeted choir director at the local church, who seems to be the only person welcoming Desiree back with open arms at first.
But Desiree also meets Mack (Younger‘s Jay Wilkison), who works with her dad at his car wash. The gruff, tatted-up blue-collar guy might not look like her type, but the second he strips off those coveralls and reveals a toned bod underneath, she’s weak in the knees.
Sitcom legend Telma Hopkins (Family Matters, Half & Half) also stars as a friend of Harry’s, but she’s not the only TV royalty involved in the series: It also boasts the late, great Norman Lear as an Executive Producer.
The acclaimed and adored writer/producer created some of the most impactful television comedies of all time, from All In The Family to Sanford And Son to The Jeffersons. The significance of Clean Slate bearing Lear’s name in the credits is not lost on us: His shows have changed the landscape of American culture, using comedy as a conduit for social change by broadcasting messages of love and acceptance into millions of homes across the country.
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So, while Clean Slate may have the bones of a standard sitcom set-up, it’s mere existence as a trans-led comedy is pretty radical, especially at a time when conservative politicians attempt to roll back the protections and rights of our community, and particularly those of our trans siblings.
That the series will be globally available to stream through Prime Video is nothing short of major, and we’re so glad to have Laverne Cox—star that she is—continue to share Norman Lear’s humanist message with the world.
Clean Slate premieres February 6 on Amazon Prime Video. Check out its first trailer below:
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