In a time when trans people are being targeted by the federal government, on-screen representation—not just of struggle, but also of joy—is more important than ever.
Enter Clean Slate, a new sitcom on Amazon Prime starring Laverne Cox and George Wallace. The show tells the story of Desiree, a woman who returns to her hometown in Alabama to reconnect with her father, Harry, after more than 20 years.
Harry, played by Wallace, hasn’t seen Desiree since before her transition and is shocked when she shows up at his door.
“It felt like an awkward thing to put in an email,” she tells him in the pilot.
“More awkward than this?” her father responds.
The 45-minute comedy is charming and funny, showing a father and daughter navigating conflict by leading with love and learning from one another along the way.
Harry is learning to open up and provide Desiree with the safe space she needed growing up. Desiree, in turn, is learning to face her problems head-on rather than running from them.
“I’m so overwhelmed, in the best possible way,” Cox said ahead of a screening of her new show, explaining how the series went from idea to reality.
“We had the honor, the pleasure, of meeting with the late, great Norman Lear,” she said. Clean Slate was one of the last projects the TV legend worked on before his passing in December 2023 at the age of 101.
“He shaped so much of my childhood,” she said, recalling how she grew up watching his work, including The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, and The Facts of Life. Just getting a meeting with Lear, she added, was “incredible.”
“Chatting with him and telling him about the show and my life, he said to us, ‘I learned more in the past hour about life—things I should have known but didn’t—and I would love to work with you on this.’”
Cox revealed that, at first, everyone turned down the pitch. “I was like, okay, they’re not buying trans shows. I need to pivot,” she said. But then, on Lear’s 100th birthday, they found out Prime Video would be picking up Clean Slate.
“I still can’t believe we’re here,” she said. “This is a dream come true for me—to have a show that’s loosely based on my life, with really incredible people.”
Cox also spoke about the authenticity of Clean Slate’s writers’ room and staff, which consisted entirely of queer and trans people, as well as people of color.
“I am so proud that so many of the writers in that room said they felt they could bring their entire selves to work in ways they never had on other shows,” she said.
“We also had trans people at every level of production, which, believe me, makes a difference,” Cox added.
Before the screening began, Cox summed up the show in one simple sentence:
“I hope you laugh and have fun—because we did.”
Clean Slate is now available to stream on Prime Video.
