Too Much TV: Prime Video Kills Another Ex-Freevee Series

Prime Video has pulled the plug on "Clean Slate," a show you should have been watching

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, April 18th, 2025:

PRIME VIDEO PULLS THE PLUG ON 'CLEAN SLATE'
The Amazon-owned ad-supported streaming service Freevee was only around about five years before being shut down and its programs rolled into Amazon's Prime Video. But whatever you might think of the service, Freevee's original content slate definitely punched above its weight. Leverage: Redemption, Alex Rider and Bosch: Legacy were all dramas that ran multiple seasons. And Leverage: Redemption is now streaming on Prime Video while there is a Bosch: Legacy spin-off Ballard set to premiere soon.

But it's the original comedies where Freevee really shined, although the service struggled sometimes to promote them. Jury Duty was a success and is apparently coming back for a second season on Prime Video. Shows like the Hispanic coming-of-age series Primo and The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh (which was about an Indian family that migrated to America) weren't just funny. They were diverse in a way that is still increasingly rare on television.

And then there is Clean Slate.

The comedy was Norman Lear's last project and it was originally ordered for Freevee. But by the time it premiered, that streamer was gone and it debuted on Prime Video. Which from what I can tell from the outside, seemed ill-inclined to put a lot of marketing push into its premiere.

The series starred George Wallace as Harry, an old-school car wash owner in Alabama who has a lot of soul searching to do when the child he thought was a son returns as a proud, trans woman, Desiree (Laverne Cox). The show was originally pitched to Lear as Sanford & Daughter. He wisely thought that was a bad idea but believed the premise deserved a shot.

And the result was a series that felt like an updated Norman Lear project. It was funny, it had heart and it addressed the trans issue in the way you would expect to see on a Lear show: respectfully, but with no sense anyone was taking things too seriously. It was life-affirming in the best possible way and I had hopes that the show would find an audience despite the lack of promotion. It certainly was the series George Wallace has been waiting for all of his life.

Today, Laverne Cox, George Wallace, and Dan Ewen penned a piece for Deadline where they announced Clean Slate wouldn't be picked up for a second season. The article doesn't display any anger, which is typically circumspect for these types of post-cancellation pieces. But it does provide a treasure trove of inside details about how the series came together:

Norman shook his head in amazement. He looked at us, collecting his thoughts before asking, “I’m almost a hundred years old. How have I just learned so much about something so important?”

There, aside from us and the Yoda of Hollywood? Lear’s amazing and relentless right hand at Act III Productions, Brent Miller, and Laverne’s instinctive manager-producer, Paul Hilepo.

Laverne, one of precious few Alabamans to appear on both the cover of Time magazine and British Vogue, had spent the prior 90 minutes entertaining dozens of questions about transness from the ever-curious Norman. It was a fantastic conversation, and we would wager it was Norman’s first meeting where he would find himself addressed as “guuuurl” 17 times.

Some of Lear’s questions were too personal, some overly medical. Laverne’s retort, “That information is between me and my doctor and my boyfriend,” would end up in the pilot script. But Norman’s questions were evidence of a mind that had remained open, decades after most people’s have welded shut and whatnot.

I'm going to miss the show. It wasn't just entertaining, it had a point of view that I haven't seen in any other show.

I don't know all the behind-the-scene discussions that led to this decision. But reading the news reminded me of a text I received from someone on the show who had been complaining to me that Amazon didn't seem to really believe in the series: "This is the most meaningful and funniest show I've ever worked on. And we're just fucked."

I can't say it better than that.

THERE ARE SMALL STREAMERS AND THEN THERE ARE *REALLY* SMALL STREAMERS
Because I write regularly about streaming services, I receive a lot of pitches from smaller services letting me know about upcoming projects.

For instance, there is NewYonder, which promises "award-winning documentaries and shows that take you on a journey across the globe. Get inspired by the world’s beauty, culture, and the fascinating human stories within it. Have a positive impact while watching. 5% of your subscription goes to conservation projects across land and oceans."

NewYonder costs $8.99 a month or $99.99 per year. They do have a fairly impressive lineup of documentaries, but I am not sure if that's enough to justify the costs for most people. This strikes me as a very niche play, but maybe there's enough of a market for that to make it work financially?

And then there is Red Coral Universe, which is free to watch if you provide your email address and register. Here is how that streaming describes itself: "Red Coral Universe is an artist forward streaming platform offering a wide variety of unique and engaging content catering to the independent film, television and music community. With its wide range of movies, TV shows, music videos, sports and original content, there's something for everyone on Red Coral Universe. Sign up today and discover a world of endless entertainment possibilities."

Toon Googles is a children's programming platform that has a unique freemium business model. The first three episodes of shows are free, but then you need to pony up $1.99 a month.

I am in the process of arranging interviews with executives at some of these streamers. I think they have interesting stories to tell and it's helpful for all of you to know what's available. I did a few of these interviews awhile ago but honestly got sidetracked during the Hollywood strikes, because they do take a bit of time. I was reminded this week I enjoyed doing them and I am diving back into it in the coming weeks.

TWEET OF THE DAY

ODDS AND SODS
* Deadline cobbled together a piece highlighting Ryan Coogler's recent comments on a podcast that he was spoken to Gillian Anderson about somehow participating in his upcoming reboot of The X-Files. Aside from the fact that Deadline manages to include comments from series creator Chris Carter from another podcast in the short piece of reporting, the headline is a bit misleading. It implies Anderson is somehow returning as Scully, and both Coogler and Anderson don't come anywhere close to saying that in their comments.

I spoke with Carter about this last year and he told me he had nothing to do with the reboot, but that his understanding was that there was an effort to make the cast younger and more diverse. He also told me about an idea he had been pitching about a reboot of Millennium, which isn't available for streaming because "Fox is too fucking cheap."

* Bill Carter argues on LateNighter that Comedy Central should do the smart thing and let Josh Johnson host already.

* Season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go will premiere Thursday, May 8th on Max.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY, APRIL 18TH:
Dead Mail (Shudder)
Get Rich Or Die Trying (LMN)
iHostage (Netflix)
Jane Season Three Premiere (Apple TV+)
Light & Magic (Disney+)
Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror (Netflix)
The Narrow Road To The Deep North Series Premiere (Prime Video)

SATURDAY, APRIL 19TH:
Desire: A Temptations Story (Lifetime)
Forty-Seven Days With Jesus (Great American Family)
Heavenly Ever After (Netflix)
Journey To You (Hallmark)

SUNDAY, APRIL 20TH:
Remarkable Women (The CW)
Secrets Of The Penguins (NatGeo)
SHIROHIYO - Reincarnated As A Neglected Noble: Raising My Baby Brother With Memories From My Past Life Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Sins Of My Husband (Lifetime)
Sister Wives Season Premiere (TLC)
The Rehearsal Season Two (Max)
Tournament Of Champions Season Six Finale (Food Network)

MONDAY, APRIL 21ST:
America's Most Wanted Season Three Premiere (Fox)
Brokenwood Mysteries Season Premiere (Acorn TV)
Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out Series Premiere (TLC)
Extracted Season One Finale (Fox)
Pangolin: Kulu's Journey (Netflix)
The Making Of 'The Americas' (Peacock)
This Farming Life (BritBox)

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!