Clean Slateis set to captivate audiences with its heartfelt and humorous storytelling, brought to life by a talented mix of beloved and rising stars. As part ofPrime Video’s 2025 TV releases, the series follows Desiree, a New York artist struggling with failed relationships and financial difficulties. Seeking a fresh start, she returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, determined to mend her fractured relationship with her father. However, she now proudly embraces her identity as a trans woman, leaving her outspoken father to navigate this new chapter in their lives.
Created by thelate sitcom creator Norman Lear,Clean Slatesees Desiree become the talk of the town as she moves into her childhood home and gets a temporary job at her father’s car wash. Encountering friendly and not-so-friendly new and old faces, she will, undoubtedly, be forever changed.ShowrunnersSimran Baidwan and Dan Ewen brought the idea to a popular actress and LGBTQIA+ activist, who immediately loved the idea of the protagnist reconnecting with her estranged, but loving, old-school father (viaEntertainment Weekly).
Laverne Cox As Desiree
Date Of Birth: July 16, 2025
Actor:Laverne Cox was born in Mobile, Alabama, and had her breakout role inOrange Is the New Blackas Sophia Burset.She became the first transgender person to be nominated for an acting Primetime Emmyand garnered four nominations in total during the show’s airing. Cox is an LGBTQIA+ icon and an equal rights activist. Recently,Laverne Cox played a villain in Netflix’sUglies, and portrayed Gail in the Oscar-winning feature,Promising Young Woman.
Uglies(2024)
Dr. Cable
Character:Cox leads her first TV series withClean Slate, playing Desiree,who returns home after 23 yearsof not talking to her father, who is expecting to see his son. After funding for her art gallery in New York doesn’t pull through, and she tries to start over and temporarily works in her father’s car wash, Cox’s character might realize the place she once ran away from has changed and so has everyone in it.
George Wallace As Harry
Date Of Birth: June 29, 2025
Actor:George Wallace was born in Atlanta, Georgia, andbroke big in the Coen Brothers’The Ladykillers, alongside Tom Hanks. He’s played roles in several movies by Adam Sandler’s production company Happy Madison but is best known for playing the Mayor inBatman Foreverand Mr. Washington inThe Wash. A beloved actor and comedian, Wallace has also had guest star appearances in numerous TV and animated shows, likeScrubs,Law & Order: SVU,Atlanta,Bob’s Burgers,andHacks.
Hubie Halloween(2020)
Mayor Benson
Character:On top of being aClean Slatestory creator,Wallace plays Harry, Desiree’s father.Harry runs a car wash in Alabama, where he is part of a close-knit community of neighbors and long-time friends. When his estranged child shows up, Harry begins a journey of transformation that could repair their relationship. However, as he spends more time with Desiree, he realizes he might not have known his daughter at all.
D. K. Uzoukwu As Louis
Date Of Birth: N/A
Actor:D. K. Uzoukwu was born in Washington, D. C., and had his breakout role in Issa Rae’s award-winning HBO comedy-drama series,Insecure. Uzoukwu had previously worked on projects by Rae, including starring in the two-season web series,The Choirand playing supporting parts inThe Misadventures of Awkward Black Girland the podcast seriesFruit. Uzoukwu also has minor roles in several studio and independent productions, likeFresh Off the Boat,The Disinvited, andThe Brave.
The Disinvited(2024)
Brett
Character:As part ofClean Slate’s main cast,Uzoukwu plays Louis, Desiree’s closeted best friend. Louis, who’s also broke and living with his mother, reunites with Desiree, and the two pick up right where they left off. He brings levity to the situation and supports his friend no matter what, showing Desiree that she has a welcoming place back home and people who have always seen her for who she is.
Jay Wilkison As Mack
Date Of Birth: July 04, 2025
Actor:Jay Wilkison was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and broke out in TV Land’s rom-com seriesYounger, playing the ex-boyfriend of Hilary Duff’s character. Before that, the actor held smaller roles in shows like Showtime’sNurse Jackieand Hayden Panettiere’sNashville. He also acted inRabbit Hole, the drama that became one ofNicole Kidman’s best Oscar-nominated movies. Wilkinson also played several characters inRent: Filmed Live on Broadway.
Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway(2008)
Gordon, The Man, Mr. Grey
Character:In the original Prime series, Wilkison plays Mack, a single father working at Harry’s car wash who begins a flirtatious relationship with Desiree. Playing the main romantic interest in the woman’s journey, Mack represents the future that Desiree could have in her hometown. However, his relationship with his 10-year-old daughter takes priority and echoes the show’s themes of family relations.
Telma Hopkins As Ella
Date Of Birth: Jun 01, 2025
Actor:Telma Hopkins was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and broke big in ABC’s sitcom,Getting By. Around the same period, Hopkins had roles in other American sitcoms, includingFamily MattersandHalf & Half— which got her several nominations. Since then, she has continued to star incomedy shows likeModern Family,appearing in several TV movies and series, includingAre We There Yet?, Nickelodeon’sThe Casagrandes, and Netflix’sFamily Reunion.
Family Reunion(2019-2022)
Maybelle
Character:Hopkins portrays Ella, Louis' mother and a confidant to Harry as he gets used to the idea of having a daughter. Ella is quick to welcome Desiree back and helps Harry take advantage of this opportunity to reconnect with his estranged child. She’s also set to be a romantic interest for Wallace’s character and have her own arc, as her son hasn’t been honest with her.
Clean Slate Supporting Cast & Characters
Residents Of Mobile Will Encounter Desiree On Her Journey
Norah Murphy as Opal: Murphy is an emerging child actress known for her small roles inA Friend of the Family,Kindred, andThe Exorcist: Believer. InClean Slate, Murphy embarks on her first supporting role, playing Opal, Mack’s daughter who has big city dreams like Desiree.
Phillip Garcia as Miguel: Garcia has appeared in several TV shows, most notablyScandal,Criminal Minds,Animal Kingdom, andSprung. The actor plays Miguel, Harry’s archnemesis and neighbor inClean Slate.
Pat Yeary as Fern Stuckley:Yeary is known for some indie films, including The Signal and Ipseity, and has some upcoming shorts in addition toClean Slate.
Zoe Vatekeh as Tameeka:Vatekeh is from Savannah, Georgia, where she obtained her B.F.A. She has largely worked as additional crew on movies includingThe Idea of YouandThe Color Purple, but is also an actress.
Keith Arthur Bolden as Pastor Hughes:From Los Angeles, California, Bolden is known for the role of Daryl inCobra Kai, in addition to small roles on some other major TV shows.
Jazzmun as Betty Rage:Jazzmun is a nightclub performer and activist, but has also made some small appearances inThe 40-Year-Old Virgin, NYPD Blue, andGlee, the last as “Queen Tina Turner.”
Will T. Travis:Travis is a television actor known for roles inAmerican Horror Story, Poker Face, andLaw & Order.
Teresa L. Graves as Pearl Phipps:Also presumably playing a Mobile resident, Graves has starred and guest starred in various TV series over the last 10 years, also playing another character called Pearl inAtlanta.
Angelique Cabral:Cabral starred as Colleen inLife in Pieces, and held a guest role inDon’t Trust theB—- in Apartment 23. She then provided the voice of Amaya in Disney’sWishand is now potentially coming back to live-action TV.
Huxsie Scott as Marian:Scott is a renowned jazz and blues artist from Savannah and is seemingly breaking into film and TV withClean Slate,her only other on-screen credit being 1981’sMadhouse.
