Laverne Cox and George Wallace offer a loving vision of trans families in 'Clean Slate'

There’s an old-fashioned consciousness to Prime Video’s newest comedy, “Clean Slate.” Its title, which harkens backmost to web sitcoms of yesteryear and wholesome themes of a household increasing and learning together, consciousness consecutive retired of a Norman Lear production. And that’s by design.

Stand-up comedian George Wallace, who plays car lavation proprietor Harry Slate, archetypal imagined this affable father/daughter bid arsenic a riff connected a classical Black sitcom.

“I went to Norman Lear, who I’d known since the ’90s, and I said, ‘You rebooting everything else! Let’s reboot ‘Sanford and Son,’ ” helium recalls implicit Zoom, sitting adjacent to his “Clean Slate” co-star, Laverne Cox.

“I fundamentally conscionable wanted to perceive [Wallace hums the sitcom’s iconic Quincy Jones taxable song] due to the fact that that makes you consciousness bully already, right?” helium adds. “But [Lear] said, ‘That’s the craziest thought I ever heard. Get retired of here, travel backmost with a twist.’ ”

The twist that Wallace, co-creator Dan Ewen and Cox developed, feels, contempt its accepted trappings, tailor-made for 2025. The eight-episode bid premiering Thursday was among Lear’s last projects earlier his decease successful 2023; the legendary TV writer-producer was known for boundary-pushing, socially applicable shows and “Clean Slate” falls successful that ethos. Wallace’s Harry is Sanford-like, a cantankerous feline whose beingness is upended erstwhile cool-headed Desiree (Cox) shows up astatine his doorstep. Faced with a transgender girl helium hasn’t spoken to successful decades and who’d near Mobile, Ala., for New York City, Harry has to enactment anew to beryllium the begetter she’s ever needed.

Partly autobiographical — Cox herself grew up successful Mobile — “Clean Slate” imagines a satellite wherever a curmudgeon similar Harry would person conscionable arsenic hard a clip with Desiree’s vegetarian proclivities arsenic with her sex identity. As a moving gag successful 1 episode, he’s called to adhd currency to the “Pronoun Jar” whenever helium misgenders oregon deadnames his daughter.

“Clean Slate” is partially autobiographical. Laverne Cox, similar her quality Desiree, grew up successful Mobile, Ala.

(The Tyler Twins/For The Times)

Whatever bigotry is portrayed present — similar erstwhile the section pastor refuses to hug Desiree the mode helium does each different church-going ladies — is defanged by the loving assemblage that surrounds the Slates. That whitethorn good beryllium what’s astir extremist astir the show.

Desiree, who’s often driven by the lessons she’s learned successful therapy (“Be present, funny and nonjudgmental,” she reminds herself connected the autobus connected the mode to Alabama), is allowed to simply wrestle with the ups and downs of being a quality being. Her tiffs with Harry are little astir her modulation and much astir the benignant of differences a begetter and girl would person aft they’ve been estranged for decades.

“What I find truly absorbing is that, successful existent beingness erstwhile I’m with my mother, sometimes she’ll accidental thing and I’ll consciousness 11 years aged again,” Cox shares. “And I felt that arsenic Desiree. I felt similar determination were definite moments wherever George would accidental thing oregon immoderate dynamic would travel up, and I would consciousness similar a small kid. I deliberation that’s a large happening for radical to spot and experience.”

Laverne Cox and George Wallace successful a country from Prime Video’s “Clean Slate.”

(Courtesy of Prime)

Desiree’s tendency to reconnect with her begetter doesn’t disregard the wounded and trauma she experienced arsenic a child. The amusement offers a imaginativeness of trans puerility that earnestly asks not for specified tolerance oregon acceptance but for affirmation. For Cox, who broke crushed erstwhile she became the archetypal openly trans performer to gain an Emmy nomination for “Orange Is the New Black,” there’s an urgency to specified a plea. A small much than a decennary since she was featured on the screen of Time magazine for an nonfiction titled “The Transgender Tipping Point,” Cox has seen firsthand however rhetoric astir the trans assemblage has shifted.

“At the time, journalists wanted to speech to trans people,” Cox says. “They were like, ‘Let’s bring a trans idiosyncratic to speech astir this.’ Then determination was a play erstwhile the close helping got a truly bully strategy together. They were, like, ‘We’re gonna absorption connected sports. That’ll beryllium the gateway into taking distant each trans people’s rights.’ And it worked retired precise good for them. Then we stopped seeing them speech with trans people, and they were conscionable talking about america and conscionable making up each kinds of insane things. We were conscionable chopped retired of the speech and profoundly dehumanized.”

“Clean Slate” is simply a accidental to connection a antagonistic narrative. It imagines a satellite not without transphobia but with capable emotion to spell astir that specified favoritism doesn’t drown retired Desiree’s day-to-day existence, fto unsocial her dignity. It is arsenic didactic arsenic it is aspirational — particularly astatine a clip erstwhile enforcement orders from President Trump proceed to people and erase trans lives.

Subplots successful the show’s archetypal fewer episodes halfway connected mundane scenarios, similar vocation time astatine the section schoolhouse and shot games during gait sales. Desiree spends her days flirting with hunky car lavation worker Mack (Jay Wilkison) portion mentoring his precocious young girl Opal (Norah Murphy). She eggs connected her closeted BFF Louis (D.K. Uzoukwu) to get connected Grindr and sidles up to his church-going parent Ella (Telma Hopkins). All the while, Desiree puts her years of therapy to enactment arsenic she and Harry instrumentality to each other’s lives.

“I felt similar determination were definite moments wherever George would accidental thing oregon immoderate dynamic would travel up, and I would consciousness similar a small kid. I deliberation that’s a large happening for radical to spot and experience,” says Laverne Cox astir moving with her co-star George Wallace.

(The Tyler Twins/For The Times)

On and offscreen, Wallace and Cox marque for a hilarious unusual couple; she a imaginativeness successful restraint (today successful a slayer bob and vintage Mugler), helium an detonation of spontaneity (in a plain leather overgarment and cap). Cox, similar Desiree, is large connected therapyspeak. She hopes this amusement tin assistance span differences, unfastened audiences to spot the humanity successful 1 different and person it service arsenic a mode to combat the existent rhetoric that is tearing radical apart.

“There’s thing astir the net and this civilization close present wherever dehumanization is conscionable rampant,” Cox says. “Not conscionable with trans radical — with everyone. We disagree politically and we conscionable accidental dehumanizing things. And, for me, that’s conscionable the worst happening successful the world. Because erstwhile you dehumanize people, past you tin perpetrate unit against them. You tin instrumentality distant their rights.”

For Wallace, it’s each conscionable arsenic simple. Even arsenic helium sits backmost successful awe listening to his younger co-star, helium approaches his answers with his requisite no-nonsense humor.

“I’m a equine of a antithetic color,” helium says. “I’ve ever been up of my time. I grew up loving people, respecting everybody. I’m a kid of the ’70s and ’80s. I learned to emotion radical successful New York City. It’s truly who I am. I don’t attraction who you are, what you are, wherever you’re coming from, oregon wherever you’re going. If you’re a bully person, I’m gonna emotion you. And you’re gonna emotion me, too. I’m gonna marque you emotion maine if you don’t. And that’s who Harry is.”

“I’ve ever been up of my time. I grew up loving people, respecting everybody. I’m a kid of the ’70s and ’80s. I learned to emotion radical successful New York City. It’s truly who I am,” says comedian George Wallace.

(The Tyler Twins/For The Times)

Such antithetic but complementary approaches are mirrored successful “Clean Slate” and showcase however the 2 tackled the comedic sensibility of the show.

“I whitethorn person done drama before, but not with a fable similar this,” Cox says, remembering however she archetypal saw Wallace connected “The Tonight Show” successful the ’80s.

Moreover, fixed however adjacent to location the premise of the amusement is for Cox, she worked with her acting manager to amended harness the mode immoderate of the dialog and subplots — not to notation the acceptable connected which they changeable — triggered her ain past trauma.

“It was precise intimidating uncovering my comedic dependable portion being the benignant of histrion who wants to beryllium grounded successful the character’s unfulfilled needs and each that stuff,” she says.

Wallace, who’s had a agelong career arsenic a stand-up comedian, is yet a starring antheral connected tv successful his 70s. And it’s for a relation that is ready-made for his affable and playfully abrasive consciousness of humor.

“Meanwhile, I’m an idiot,” Wallace says with a chuckle. “She was each of these things, studied and went to assemblage and learned however to enactment and each of that stuff. I conscionable travel retired and spell ‘What the hellhole you doing?!’ But this chemistry is conscionable awesome.”

Onscreen, that tug-and-pull plays retired similar a modern queer riff connected “Sanford and Son.”

“I’m learning who she is,” Wallace says astir Cox and Desiree alike, wistfully summing up what “Clean Slate” aspires to be. “I’m learning a lot. And that’s what I deliberation the amusement is truly about. Me being educated successful America astir however to live, however to emotion and however to laugh.”