‘Clean Slate’ (2025) Prime Video Series Review - Laverne Cox in a Bland Comedy Show

The most clever thing - if you can say that - about Clean Slate has to be its title. Here is the IMDb synopsis: Harry, an Alabama car wash owner, is surprised when his estranged child returns home after 17 years, now a determined, proud trans woman named Desiree. You see, the child who left home 17 years ago was a boy named Desmond. The child who returns to Alabama in the present is a woman named Desiree (Laverne Cox). She, in other words, is a trans character. Since Harry (George Wallace), an old man, belongs to a generation where people weren't so (publicly and openly) fluid when it came to gender, the very thought of this reunion comes with currents of conflicts and tension. The father-daughter relationship must start with a clean slate from this point onward. What's more, Harry runs a car wash business - Slate Family Car Wash. The Slate family is in the (car) cleaning business. "Clean Slate" then might as well be the company's motto (the Slate office will clean your vehicle).

Created by Dan Ewen, Laverne Cox, and George Wallace, Clean Slate almost immediately establishes which side of the drama it will lie on (light or dark). When Harry opens the door expecting to hug his son but is shocked to find his daughter, he neither flips out nor becomes rude. After a few low-hanging jokes (Desiree: You look the same. Harry: Can't say the same about you), Harry grows sufficiently comfortable around Desiree. The only issue he faces is that he takes some time to address Desiree as her/she and not he/him. Clean Slate, in fact, is more about Desiree growing comfortable in her new environment. Almost all the characters embrace Desiree's new identity, except for a pastor. After delivering his sermon, he says goodbye to men by shaking their hands while he hugs and kisses women. When Desiree leans forward to give him a hug, he quickly offers her a handshake and moves on. This behavior irks some women, leading them to contemplate revenge. Clean Slate, however, plays the game too safely. It doesn't bother asking or answering another question: Are there other church members who are as regressive as the pastor? If the majority of the congregation thinks progressively, why don't they formally request a more open-minded pastor?

Also, by giving us an evil church leader, Clean Slate doesn't prove itself to be a daring show. This cartoonish villain doesn't spark any debate about the dark side of the church. The pastor is nothing more than a shallow obstacle Desiree must cross to become the hero. There is a single father, Mack (Jay Wilkison), who is burdened with the task of raising his ambitious daughter, Opal (Norah Murphy). Harry's arch nemesis/neighbor-next-door, Miguel (Phillip Garcia), lives alone and has a family to care for (they live somewhere else). A priest, Louis (D.K. Uzoukwu), constantly worries that someone will discover that he's gay - the man is not yet ready to come out of the closet. These threads have plenty of dramatic potential, but Clean Slate focuses so much on Desiree's life that the attention seems obnoxious. Opal's fears, Louis's anxiety, Harry's health-related complication, and Miguel's loneliness - it's all given a blithe treatment. It feels as if Desiree is stealing the spotlight from everyone. This makes her look like an egocentric character.

Clean Slate aims to be "unserious," but there is a difference between maintaining a lighthearted mood and displaying indifference. The series falls into the latter category, which is why it looks extremely bland. In one of the episodes, a bus is confiscated by a police officer. Why? It doesn't matter. Clean Slate doesn't offer sound logic; it merely wants Dialysis Divas to arrive at the voting booth in style so that other voters can clap for them. This also somehow resolves the chaos at the location. How? Again, it doesn't matter. Ask Clean Slate for a detailed explanation, and it will say, "Hey, don't be so serious! Just go with the flow." Many good comedy shows, like Friends, The Office, How I Met Your Mother, etc., have succeeded by balancing humor with drama. Clean Slate, though, wastes the potential of both the comedy and the drama. You laugh at two or three jokes and don't care about the father-daughter relationship or Desiree and Mack's romantic mess. I know that not every show can be Seinfeld or Superstore, but the lack of ambition exhibited by something like Clean Slate feels as disappointing and frustrating as hell.

Final Score- [3/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times
Note: All 8 episodes are screened for this review.
Premiere Date: February 6, 2025, on Prime Video