Starring comedian George Wallace, Family Matters actress Telma Hopkins and rising star D.K. Uzoukwu, the series follows a father reconnecting with his estranged child, Desiree (Cox), who is now a proud transgender woman.
In Parade's interview at SCAD TVFest, the cast opened up about why this show matters, the impact of working alongside Cox and Lear, and why Clean Slate is more than just another sitcom.
Clarisa Franchesci, Parade: What drew you to Clean Slate?
And this character sort of, like, really, it's tangentially related or close to me a little bit. You know, we have a lot of similarities. I grew up in a choir. My character, Lewis, is a choir director. You know, he struggles with coming out to his family. I had those struggles as well. So it's very topical, but it resonates with me. So I love that aspect about this show.
And, the other thing, well, George. Yeah, I love me some George. Never worked with him before, but I was looking forward to the chance of just really having that acting moment with him. But, great cast. Laverne?! Come on. You know, Orange is the New Black. This girl is phenomenal. So it was just a chance to do something. And I could swear! That's a first for me.
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DKU: I think the show is, I mean, first of all, we're a family comedy, right? It's a Norman Lear project and, you know, in line with his legacy, we are talking about, you know, sensitive topics, but we're doing it with laughter. And laughter is literally the best medicine. We've been saying that all day. And so I think people can be rest assured that it's going to give them laughs and it might teach them a couple things and it’s okay to learn. It's okay to be challenged and changed, but at the end of the day, we are here to bring joy and laughter and love and teach you about acceptance.
DKU: Watch the pilot, see how you feel.
George Wallace (GW): Oh yes, all the scenes were powerful and great, and it's all about love and it's all about listening, learning, living, loving and laughing. And that's what it's all about. So when you watch all of the scenes, there's going to be some moments you might drop a tear. We try to tackle everything with a bit of humor.
And it's just wonderful. And I'm just blessed to be honest. And it came to fruition. We started this seven years ago. I came up with it in my head seven years ago. We had COVID and we had the writer’s strike. And guess what? We're doing it. And guess what? Made in Georgia!
GW: Actually, it would be a natural stand up. I love my stand up more than anything else and I love doing it all over the world. I'm blessed to have worked from Hong Kong to Singapore and making people happy. And when I see happy people, it makes me happier.
TH: Valerie and I decided that for this particular time, we were doing a lot of press for The Young and the Restless that we wanted to do our own particular thing, which is something we did on Half and Half. And that's when I would, like, casually go by and just take her wig and walk out the door and she always has another wig in her purse.
And she had the dog, “Hi, Coco.”
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
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