Clean Slate stars Laverne Cox as a trans woman who returns to her Alabama family home and a father (George Wallace) who does not know his child is a woman. She’s been away and out of touch for 23 years.
Clean Slate started off with a lightning fast first episode that skipped over details and moments of the reunion. It felt a little ragged. I almost gave up on the series after one episode, but I’m glad I didn’t. Later episodes were better done, with lots of heartfelt storylines and humor as the family learns to love in a new way.
Desiree (Cox) was coming off a bad romance and a devastating financial loss. She wasn’t sure how she would be greeted by her father. Harry (Wallace) welcomed her home and made quick work of accepting his child as a woman. There were some bumps in the road, but he was ready to love her.
The series grew on me as I got to know the characters. There were many trans people involved in the series as actors and directors, but it wasn’t a big deal. They were just people in the story. Some were friends of Desiree’s. Conversations between them were enlightening. Unless caring about the health and safety of trans people is a concern of yours, you might not even notice that they’re there.
Harry’s next door neighbor Ella (Telma Hopkins) loved Desiree as much as Harry did. She stood up for Desiree better than her father did when the local pastor proved to be a transphobic bigot. Her son Louis (D.K. Uzoukwu) was Desiree’s childhood best friend. He was the choir director at the church and a closeted gay man. Desiree made it her business to sign him up for Grindr as soon as she got back into town. Louis’s character arc was as interesting as Desiree’s and an important part of this story about families with LGBTQ children.
Many scenes took place in Harry’s car wash. That’s where the title Clean Slate came from. Mack (Jay Wilkison) worked there. His entrepreneurial 9 year old daughter Opal (Norah Murphy) was around a lot. Mack took an instant liking to Desiree and asked her out. She wasn’t having it (at least at first) because of her recent bad breakup and because Mack was an ex-con. She wanted a penthouse man. Opal was such a wonderful kid, it softened her up a bit toward Mack.
Amid all the comedy there were some serious moments. There was an episode about an election – possibly the 2024 election. There was an episode about the church. There was an episode about Harry’s health. They went to a theme park, a gay bar Mardi Gras party, and more. Through these episodes the characters were explored and developed in all their flawed human glory, until by the 8th episode I really cared about them all. A surprise at the very end suggests the possibility of another season, which I think would be wonderful.
Close to You with Elliot Page, another going home after transitioning story, is similar, but not as funny. Both look at the way people were able to connect and love each other as family and friends in new ways.
The entire series is available now on Prime Video. Women directors in the series were Zackary Drucker, Princess Monique Filmz, Nisha Ganatra, and Linda Mendoza.
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