Prime Video cancels Laverne Cox comedy “Clean Slate” after one season.

TV & Film

We are saddened to report Amazon Prime Video has cancelled Laverne Cox’s “Clean Slate” after one season.

The Norman Lear-backed comedy series originally debuted on Prime Video in February. The series followed Cox as Desiree Slate, an out and proud trans woman who returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, to reconnect with her estranged father, Harry (Wallace). Their reunion is fraught with challenges, as Harry realizes that Desiree isn’t the same child he last saw 23 years ago.

The series is notable as it is the last completed series produced by Lear before passing from cardiac arrest at age 101 in 2023. 

In addition to leading the series, Wallace and Cox took on co-creating duties with Dan Ewen. 

In response to the show's cancellation, Cox said, “Of course, we mourn our baby. We mourn for the jobs that disappear with this news. We mourn the continued demise of non-IP creations (for the record, we would’ve gladly thrown some dragons into Harry’s car wash, or made Desiree a secret agent). We mourn full seasons. We mourn Norman, and his bravery, and his not infrequent cursing. We mourn sister projects that face a similar fate. We mourn the characters being scrubbed from storytelling out of fear. “

She continued saying, “Thank you to everyone who laughed and cried with us. Thank you to everyone who told us our show was exactly what you needed to see and feel during this dark time. We will be conducting a folksy awards campaign, so keep your eyes peeled for our bake sale. “For Yo’ Momma’s Consideration” ads are being prepared. Conversations will continue about where and how Desiree and Harry’s journey might continue. We would love to further the echo of Norman’s voice. We will push to keep the story alive, for the sake of the kind of people portrayed in it, the kind of people being legislated out of existence, or erased from history books. It feels like it’s time to fight like hell for nice things. And whatnot.”

The series cancellation is especially disappointing considering the time it took the series to officially premiere. Peacock originally began developing the show in 2020, before moving it over to Amazon’s IMDB TV (Freevee) in 2021. In 2022, the series moved to Amazon’s Prime Video, where it remained until its cancellation.

Upon its release, “Clean Slate” received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics and fans alike.  On Rotten Tomatoes, the series held a 89% critical approval rating. In a review, Barry Levitt of The Daily Beast wrote, "Clean Slate wisely challenges common conceptions of the American South...This Alabama town is filled with people who love Jesus, of course, but they also love family and everything in between.” 

 Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone was a little more critical, describing the show as "content to be a simple, relatively old-fashioned family and friends comedy. But centering a sitcom like that around a trans character feels like an act of bold political protest, even if nobody meant it that way."

Deadline was the first outlet to report on the series cancellation.