WATCH: Laverne Cox’s ‘Clean Slate’ is a small-town sitcom primed to make a big impact
Laverne Cox was born to be a star.Most of us recognized it the moment she first appeared on Orange Is The New Black in her breakthrough role as incarcerated trans woman Sophia Burset—a role for which she made history as the first trans person Emmy-nominated for acting.And while she’s continued acting regularly in the decade-plus since—appearing in everything from the Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman to the true-crime hit Inventing Anna—she’s also devoted a lot of time to advocacy work, producing, establishing her self as an on-air personality, and becoming a red carpet fashion icon.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.All of which is to say: While we’re always thrilled to see Laverne Cox working in any capacity, it feels like we’ve been waiting for the star vehicle she’s so richly deserved since OITNB.And it looks like we finally have it with Clean Slate.In it, Cox plays Desiree, a New York City art gallerist whose job goes belly up, so she decides to return to her Alabama hometown for the first time in 17 years, where she’ll have to come out to her old-school father Harry (comedy icon George Wallace) as trans for the first time.The two didn’t exactly exactly get along back in the day, and while Harry’s no doubt surprised to see the daughter he once thought of as his “son,” their reunion presents an opportunity for them to take another shot at their relationship.
A “clean slate,” if you will…The actress and activist went from walking the carpet for her Emmy-nominated roles on television, to hosting the pre-show festivities for E!
Of course, as Desiree re-acclimates to life in her Southern small town, figures from her past resurface, while plenty of new names come into her orbit, too.For one, there’s her childhood best friend Louis (Insecure‘s D.K.
