Laverne Cox set to star in new sitcom
Amazon Freevee has officially given the green light to start production on the new comedy Clean Slate.
The sitcom will be produced by Act III Productions which is owned by the legendary Norman Lear. Laverne Cox and comedian George Wallace are set to star in what is sure to be a landmark entry into the genre.
Clean Slate will tell the story of a car wash owner in Alabama named Henry (Wallace) who must come to terms with his child Desiree, a trans woman (Cox) who is coming home after 17 years of estrangement. Cox, Wallace and executive producer/ writer Dan Ewen have been developing the show since 2021, back when Freevee was IMDb TV. Cox will also serve as an executive producer on the show. Norman Lear will be a producer in a non-writing capacity.
Lear, of course, is celebrated for bringing groundbreaking television into American households as a creator, writer and producer of such beloved sitcoms as All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times and One Day At A Time, among many others. Lear’s work was and continues to be inherently political, commenting on racism, sexism, class and prejudice in all its forms. At 100 years old, there’s no sign of him slowing down. In addition to Clean Slate, he has helped produce the upcoming 2022 animated reboot of Good Times on Netflix and is the process of getting a remake of his Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman off the ground starring Schitt’s Creek favorite Emily Hampshire.
Laverne Cox, on the other hand, has played an awe-inspiring role in elevating the visibility of trans women of color, which she will continue to do as the star of Clean Slate. Prior to this, she was the first trans POC to have a leading role on a scripted television series with Orange is the New Black. From there she went on to star in such varied projects as Inventing Anna, Promising Young Woman and Jolt, just to name a few. She has also produced the acclaimed documentary Disclosure which examines trans characters in tv and movies throughout history and is the host of “The Laverne Cox” Show, her extremely successful podcast on Shondaland Audio and iHeart Radio.
Amazon Freevee has not yet announced when Clean Slate will be shooting or an estimated premiere date, but we can probably expect it sometime next year.
