The pilot aired after the 2014Hall of Game Awards show on February 17, 2014.Clarence officially premiered on April 14, 2014, and was seen by approximately 2.3 million viewers, outperforming shows in its same demographic in the time slot. The series' pilot was nominated for aCreative Arts Emmy Award. It completed its five-year run on June 24, 2018, after three seasons and 130 episodes.
The series focuses on the daily life of Clarence Wendle, a fun-loving and spirited boy, and his best friends: Jeff, who is the moreintellectual type, and Sumo, who often uses drastic measures when solving problems.
Clarence lives with his divorced mother Mary and her boyfriend Chad in the fictional town of Aberdale,Arizona. Each episode focuses on the daily-life situations and problems that Clarence and his friends encounter, and their everyday adventures and life experiences as kids.
Other characters include students and faculty at Aberdale Elementary, Clarence's school. Certain episodes focus on the life of supporting characters, like the citizens of Aberdale and Clarence's classmates.
The main characters, from left to right: Sumo, Jeff, and Clarence
Clarence Wendle (voiced bySkyler Page in the pilot and early-mid season 1 and Spencer Rothbell in mid season 1-onwards) is an extroverted, optimistic, and wide-eyed boy who wants to bring out the best in everything and everyone. In the pilot episode, he was the "new kid" in Aberdale and could not wait to make friends. He often follows his heart, reacting towards life with unfailing excitement and enthusiasm. A "nice guy" at heart, Clarence aspires to help people, especially his fellow kids, have fun and live freely, often by using unorthodox methods to do so. He can, however, occasionally let his imagination get the better of him, and has a bad habit of meddling into people's personal lives, unintentionally making their troubles worse. Clarence has a wide range of interests and hobbies, and despite sometimes coming off as a goofball, he more often than not displays an underlying intelligence.Nick Pitera provides Clarence's singing voice in "Jeff Wins".
Jeffrey "Jeff" Randell (voiced bySean Giambrone) is Clarence's best friend who is intelligent, levelheaded, and morally inclined of the trio and tries his best to prevent Clarence from going down a bad road. Jeff's most well-known trait is that he has a cube-shaped head which represents his "square" personality. He is an avid fan ofgame shows and enjoys playing along with them.
Ryan "Sumo" Sumouski (voiced byTom Kenny) is Clarence's best friend, who is fearless, unpredictable, and often takes drastic and crude measures when trying to solve problems. Despite this often being a drawback, Sumo is loyal to Jeff and Clarence and available when they need support. He and Jeff tend to quarrel with each other due to their opposing personalities, but Clarence acts as the glue that holds the boys' friendships together. In the third season, Sumo was transferred to the new school called West Aberdale.Jason Marsden voiced Sumo in the pilot.
Mary Wendle (voiced byKatie Crown) is Clarence's 38 year old mother who is always there to support her son no matter the difficulty. She lives with her boyfriend Chad and her son Clarence. It is revealed In "Hurricane Dilliss" she has an overbearing mother which makes her very annoyed by her taking over her life, and that she has been seeing a therapist for 15 years.
Charles "Chad" Caswell (voiced byEric Edelstein) is Mary's 37 year old boyfriend who works at various odd-jobs and acts as Clarence's father figure (although Clarence mostly calls him Chad). Also has a fondness for guitar playing and rock music that is shown in the pilot.
Belson Noles (voiced byRoger Craig Smith) is an 11-year-old bully who is more likely to use insults, quips, and pranks rather than physical violence. Selfish, inconsiderate, spoiled, obese, lazy, a show-off, no respect to his teachers or mother and very superficial, Belson is very unpopular among his peers because of this, yet Clarence is the only one that likes him, though the same can't be said for him. Belson is also prone toenvy, as he is aggravated by the fact that Clarence is the "popular kid" at Aberdale Elementary School and has occasionally tried to ruin his reputation. He is also named after Nelson Boles, who helped create the series. He likely takes after his father, who appears in "Company Man" because they both show a desire for complete control over others. The same voice actor who played Sumo in the pilot,Jason Marsden, voiced Belson as well.
Chelsea Keezheekoni (voiced byGrace Kaufman) is a plucky and outspoken girl who insists that she is superior to any boy, mainly Sumo. She and Sumo have shared a kiss in Clarence, Jeff and Sumo's treehouse in "Too Gross for Comfort". She also likes creepy things like werewolves and dead bodies.
Gary (voiced by Bryson Barreto) is a 9 year old boy who rarely talks, but little is known about him. Gary has pale skin with an upturned nose, and his hair is short, dark and worn in a quiff. He wears rectangular glasses with black frames on it, a teal shirt with short blue grey sleeves (as well as a blue grey collar and chest pocket), grey pants, and brown shoes.
Chet is a 9-year-old boy who is friends with Gary and Hector, he has quiffed hair, a yellow shirt with stripes, and brown hair with white shoes
Hector (voiced by Sean Giambrone) is a 9-year-old who is friends with Clarence and Chet, Hector has a great skill of intelligence as he calculates how many more Clarence Dollars they need to make by the end of the school day. Not a lot is known to Hector but the way he met Clarence was when he was being bullied, he got saved when Clarence gave the bully a Clarence dollar, and that's how they met. Hector is a short stout kid with fair skin as well as big eyes and ears. He has short, dark blond hair with shaved sides and a cowlick. He wears a large pair of glasses with round lenses and black frames; a yellow short sleeved shirt; high waisted orange pants; pink socks and red shoes.
Coco (voiced by Megan Uesugi) is a girl who has a crush on Brady, something about her is that Reed and her are twins. Coco is a stout girl with light brown skin, thick round glasses, big black dot glasses, big black dot eyes with notable eyelashes, large purple lips resembling a duck bill, and short maroon hair. Coco wears an orange bow on her hair, a short sleeved yellow dress with a pink heart on it, light yellow socks, and black Mary Jane shoes. In the episode "Forgotten" she has a pink backpack.
Patsie (voiced by Hagia Hayes) is a 9-year-old girl who's friends with Clarence and Alison, she looks younger than the other Aberdale Elementary students, Patsie is studious as she was carrying so many books to take home in the episode "Clarence gets a girlfriend". Patsie is a small child with fair skin, short curly yellow hair, blue eyes, and long eyelashes. She wears an orange tank top with a purple cat on it, green shorts, and dark violet shoes
Kennan Dahmer is a 10 year old boy who doesn't talk, he is quiet and shy and sometimes he can be clumsy. He is an enemy of Clarence, and he might be an older brother of Percy Dahmer. Kennan has fair skin, thin limbs, and a large upper round body like a circle, he also has blond bangs with the rest of his hair covered by his hood. And also, he wears a blue zip up sweatshirt with the hood up, as well as dark blue jeans and shoes.
Heida is a 10 year old girl who is friends with Darlie, she has fair skin, a quarish-shaped head, chubby cheeks, and freckles. Her hair is long, dirty blonde, and worn like a ponytail; she also has bangs with a center part. She wears a turquoise short sleeved shirt under what appears to be a white sleeveless dress, she also wears pink boots.
Blaide (voiced by Skyler Page, later voiced by Spencer Rothbell) is a 12 year old boy who is friends with Breehn, Guyler and Clarence. Blaide is a foreigner of the way he talks, shown in the episode "Dollar Hunt", he is a foreigner, meaning that he doesn't talk, but there is a time in "Dollar Hunt", where he told Clarence that he needs a city bus home. Blaide has fair skin, short black hair, and a bean shaped head. He wears a black and yellow striped T shirt, blue shorts, and brown cowboy shoes, he has long arms, with his hands curved outwards.
Crendle (voiced by Gavin Pierce) is a 9 year old boy who attends Aberdale school and is 9 years old. Crendle is quiet, and it is shown that he fiddles with a stick in "Zoo", also, it was shown he wants his mom in "Dollar Hunt"
Ashley (voiced by Anastasia James) is a girl who was once the girlfriend of Clarence, but they have since ended their relationship, though they remain friends, she likes looking for frogs and attending art class. she has ponytail hair, a pink shirt, and blue overalls.
Gabbie (voiced by Anastasia James) is a girl who is a pretty bit of an energetic girl, but however, she is a mystery to us. Very little is known about Gabbie, like most characters, she enjoys playing along with other kids and having fun. In "Clarence's Millions", she is seen fighting Gary and Guyler over the Clarence dollars. Gabbie has pale skin, a pointed chin, and chin-length brown hair. She wears a pink headband in her hair, a pink T shirt underneath a light blue dress, and brown cowboy shoes.
Debbie (voiced by Grace Kaufman) is a 9-year-old girl who wears a bright pink shirt, yellow hair, a green skirt, and reddish shoes.
Amy Gillis (voiced byAva Acres) is a nice, and kind 11 year old girl who is a good friend to Clarence. However, she never appears after her debut in the second episode, "Pretty Great Day With a Girl", due to her moving away, save for a cameo in "Rough Riders Elementary" and a flashback in "Clarence For President".
Amy Shutzger (voiced by Skyler Page, later voiced by Damien Haas) is a big girl who, along with Mavis, is the only recurring female character to be voiced by a man. She wears her hair in a ponytail and is taller than most of her classmates. She has a crush on Jeff.
Nathan (voiced by Skyler Page, later voiced by Damien Haas) is one of Belson's friends. He's a big boy who is considered dimwitted and has been held back 2 years. He becomes friends with Clarence as well, often participating in his escapades.
Dustin Conway (voiced by Kyle Arem) is a karate aficionado who is one of Clarence's classmates and Belson's friends. He later becomes friends with Clarence.
Rita Hall (voiced byMaddy McGraw) is a playful skateboarding 9-year-old who is friends with Chelsea.
Timmy (voiced by Stuart Allan) is a 9-year-old hyperactive energetic boy who attends Aberdale Elementary sometimes, he is seem showing everyone a tappy card in ending of "Clarence's Millions". Timmy has blonde curly yellow hair, round eyes. His torso is similar to Sumo and Breehn's. He wears a light bluish-green shirt, some dark blue shorts, and red shoes.
Darlie (voiced by Isabella Niems) is a girl who wears a hooded sweatshirt. Whom is friends with Clarence, Kimby, Malessica, Courtlin, Heida and Kennan, Darlie is one of Clarence's classmates. Darlie wears a red hoodie in the Clarence Pilot, but for the remainder of the series she wears a long blue hoodie with the hood always up and a zipper in the front, as well as dark blue boots, Darlie's hair is dark brown and parted in the middle. When she unhooded herself in "Classroom", she is shown to have two pigtails held up by 2 dark indigo scrunchies.
Percy Dahmer (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) is a 10 year old short, wimpy, boy who speaks in a weak voice and is friends with Clarence and Belson. He lacks fingers. Like Clarence, he tends to let his imagination get the better of him, He has a brother named Kennan, who is not seem in his home.
Breehn (voiced byJoshua Rush) is a overachiever who is more of Jeff's friend than Clarence's, and keeps himself well grounded at all times. However, in later episodes he warms up to Clarence and joins him on some of his misadventures. He becomes a better friend of Clarence, and lets loose when with him.
Camden (voiced by Spencer Rothbell) is a boy who has deflating cheeks, he has a dad named Sherly who has deflating cheeks as well. He enjoys camping.
Julien (voiced by Joshua Black) is a brown skinned boy whom likes being friends with Clarence and the gang, he has brown skin, a round nose, and shaved head (just like Sumo) He wears a green T shirt, blue pants and navy blue shoes.
Alison (voiced by Grace Kaufman) is a girl who's friends with Clarence, Chelsea and Clarence's friends, she's usually quiet, but in the episode "Clarence's Millions" she has a high pitched cheerful voice. Alison is a thin girl with fair skin and a small pointy nose (one's like a witch would have). She keeps her long maroon hair up in a high ponytail using a black hairband. Alison wears a short sleeved orange dress with a white collar, yellow leggings, and purple boots.
Kimby (voiced by Isabella Niems) is another of Clarence's classmates. Kimby is shown as an introverted, awkward, insecure, yet lovely 9-year-old girl who constantly strokes her hair. (Which when she gets nervous, she strokes it hard, as revealed in "Plant Daddies") As agirly girl, kimby often collects dolls and stuffed animals, and enjoys giving and receiving makeovers. Jeff considers her as an enemy as she was wearing a disguise. It is shown that she was friends with Clarence alongside Malessica and Courtlin in episode "Slumber Party". She has brownish hair, wears a blue full skirt with a white collar in the center, white socks, and black mary jane shoes.
Malessica (voiced by Ivy Bishop) is a 9 year old girl who is one of Kimby's friends who is the object of Jeff's affection. She used to be in love with Jeff. She plays the electric guitar, as revealed in "Turtle Hats".
Courtlin (voiced by Tayler Buck) is a 9-year-old girl, another of Kimby's friends. She has a confident personality and isn't afraid to speak her mind, in "honk" she told clarence that the horn is super unbecoming of him. She also seems to care about her education and future. She has brown hair with pigtails on it, wears an orange tank top, purple shorts, and magenta shoes.
Reed Wright (voiced by Bryson Barretto) is a boy who was enemies with Clarence once, Not much is known about him except for the part he's been a background character. Reed has deep brown skin, oval glasses, large lips resembling a duck bill, curly black hair, and a large black mole on the side of his face. He wears a green T shirt, blue jeans, and dark blue shoes, in the episode "Forgotten" he has a pink backpack.
Vu (voiced by Grace Kaufman) is a 9 year old black-haired, skinny boy who speaks in a loud, exclaiming voice. He has a brother, as revealed in "Chadsgiving".
Try (voiced by Tom Kenny) is a 10 year old boy who's a student in Ms Baker's class in Aberdale Elementary, he's calm and kind to others, Try has brown hair, and freckles under his eyes, and he's the first Clarence character to never have a nose. Try wears a yellow shirt, light green shorts, and dark blue boots.
Tinia (voiced byMckenna Grace) is a 6 year old girl whom Clarence meets at the hospital. She presents as sweet and naïve, but has a greedy and selfish soul.
Regis Gilben is a 12 year old silent and motionless boy who communicates with an eerie wind sound. Everyone can seemingly understand this; also, somehow he is ghost-like and can touch without moving.
Emilio (voiced by Albert Gonzales and Enrique Contreras) is a short 11 year old boy whom friends with Clarence Sumo and Jeff, along with his other friends too. He is shown to be a little scared in the episode "Belson's Sleepover" he is a small kid with light brown skin, dark brown hair, thick dark eyebrows, and has a large round nose, he also wears a bright blue shirt, dark blue pants, and light blue shoes.
Guyler (voiced by Skyler Page, later voiced by Spencer Rothbell) is a 9 year old blond-haired boy with a long neck and a big nose. Although generally silent, he does make occasional grunts. He is friends with Clarence, and joins him on his escapades. At first a minor character, he becomes more prominent in later episodes; specifically in "A Nightmare on Aberdale Street: Balance's Revenge", it is shown that he isDutch.
Memo (voiced by Skyler Page) is a tall 9-year-old and somewhat pudgy boy who enjoys going on adventures with Clarence and his friends, he is a quiet boy who rarely speaks. Memo is a tall and somewhat pudgy boy with light brown skin, and a broad nose. His hair is dark brown and shoulder length with straight across bangs that covers his forehead.
Mavis (voiced by Spencer Rothbell) is a squat, noseless, 9 year old red-haired, girl who speaks in unintelligible grunts and has a fear of fire hydrants.
Marlie is a 10 year old girl whom is unspoken, she wears a dark purple ribbon on her hair, a lavender colored T shirt with a bear on it, purple pants, white socks, pink pumps, and orange and blue shoes
Brady Brown (voiced byDaniel DiMaggio) is a shy, quiet, self-isolating 10 year old boy who has a crush on Mavis. He is also handy and intelligent. He is a parody ofCharlie Brown.
Ms. Melanie Baker (voiced by Katie Crown) is the 4th grade teacher at Aberdale Elementary who is shown to be helpful and caring, yet easily overwhelmed.
Mr. Jim Reese (voiced by Skyler Page, later voiced byDonovan Patton) is the gruff yet dimwitted, vice-principal of the school. He is a former police officer with a voracious appetite.
Ms. Brenda Shoop (voiced by Katie Crown) is the inattentive, irresponsible, possibly guidance counselor who cares less about the students and more about the rules, safety, control, and herself as seen in "Freedom Cactus", where she thought Clarence's harmless comic was offensive, but when no parents said it was, she pretended to be an offended parent to cancel it. She has been working at the school for 30 years, as revealed in "The Substitute", but in " Lost Playground" her mother stated that she wasn't allowed to play on the playground 49 years prior.
Ms. Meg Julep (voiced byKate Berlant) is a substitute teacher who is extremely nervous and gullible and is unable to control the students.
Mel Sumouski (voiced byJohn DiMaggio) is Sumo's strict 45 year old father, a hillbilly who is extremely rough around the edges and has a tough personality, but is very understanding with his kids.
Tinona Sumouski (voiced byChristine Lakin) is Sumo's extremely protective Southern-accented mother, with a tough and kind personality.
Brandi Sumouski (voiced byMcKenna Grace) is Sumo's cherish, good, confident 8-year-old sister who gave Clarence a wrench to fight for self-defense, she loves looking through the aquarium and being a mermaid, she has a hillbilly like accent. Although Sumo and Brandi don't get along together, Brandi also loves watching wrestling and is quiet. She wears a pink skirt, a pink shirt, and a pink bow on her head.
Tanner Sumouski (voiced by Ari Rubin) is Sumo's muscular, dimwitted, older brother who frequently bullies Sumo.
Cynthia Noles (voiced byMena Suvari) is Belson's kind mother who doesn't stand up to anyone and doesn't notice her son's mean behavior, until she sees how he acts to Clarence in the episode "Dust Buddies" and punishes him by not only making him do the chores he called their maid to do because of his laziness, but also ruining his game save files and avatars. She resembles him down to their noses. Jeff is implied to have a crush on her.
Mr. Noles (voiced by Rick Zieff) is Belson's greedy, workaholic father who never spends any time with his son, to the point that he doesn't recognize the boy. He has a very aggressive and violent personality.
Dilliss Wendle (voiced byMaria Bamford) is Mary's fast-talking, scatterbrained, extremely selfish, overbearing, 68 year old mother who suffers from dementia and insists that she do everything for everyone. In "Plane Excited", she is revealed to have died, although it's never specified how.
Seymour Wendle (voiced byJeff Bennett) is Mary's 68 year old father. He calls Clarence "Creedence", implying that he may be suffering from dementia just like his wife.
Fern (voiced by Eric Edelstein) andStar Caswell (voiced byCree Summer) are Chad's calm, laid-back hippie parents who live in a dome-shaped house and have pet emus.
Millie Shoop (voiced by Katie Crown) is Ms. Shoop's extremely protective mother who would never let her play outside as a child. She very much resembles an elderly version of her daughter.
Walt (voiced byDave Wittenberg) andTiffany (voiced by Abigail Revanch) are Breehn's parents who are emotionally abusive towards their son and believe themselves to be superior to everyone around them because of their vintage house. They constantly brag about their home. They try to control everything their son does, all to make him "perfect" in their eyes
Joshua "Josh" Maverick (voiced by Brent Popolizio) is a 27 year old grumpy man who doesn't like children, especially Sumo, and later Clarence. He is shown to be very accident prone and constantly gets severe injuries during every one of his appearances, usually accidentally caused by Clarence's hijinks. In later episodes of the first season he went from a lanky young man to overweight, it is unknown why.
Sandy (voiced by Katie Crown) is a stuffy, unsatisfiable, rude, irritable, morbidly obese woman who rides around on a scooter and speaks with an upper-classEnglish accent. She is a frequent customer at Mary's hair parlor, where she often runs over employees and always demands that the most expensive shampoo be used for her.
Larry (voiced by Skyler Page, later voiced by Spencer Rothbell) is an odd 70 year old man who goes on a date with Ms. Baker in "Neighborhood Grill". He is known for not being fazed by anything, as well as writing down every detail about the people he meets.
Cooter (voiced by Gunnar Sizemore) andSeabass (voiced byAtticus Shaffer) are a pair of bullies who are rivals of Sumo's.
Lauren (voiced by Rachel Eggleston) is an extremely smart girl who has been homeschooled since she was 6 years old and doesn't know much about the outside world.
Lauren's Dad (voiced by Jeff Witzke) is Lauren's dignified yet gentle and open-minded hippie father who encourages Lauren to talk about her feelings.
Jeremy (voiced by Henry Kaufman) is Clarence's zany doppelgänger who appears in his dreams, which he tries to trap Clarence in.
Balance (voiced by Spencer Rothbell) is a violent, short-tempered circus performer with dwarfism who loves to terrorize children and has a hook for a right hand. He is very acrobatic and possesses mind control powers.
The Mayor of Aberdale (voiced byDave Boat) is the selfish, idiotic, and corrupt mayor.
Papa Marianio (voiced by John DiMaggio) is the town's pizza chef who is beloved by all. He may be insane, seeing as he dresses up as Jeff to badmouth himself as a prank.
Nature Kate (voiced byNatasha Leggero) is a courageous, deferential, and fearless woman who is exceedingly heroic towards the children of Aberdale, invariably there to protect and shelter them from danger.
Guyler's Mom (voiced by Skyler Page) is Guyler's kind 40 year old mother. She looks very similar to her son and husband. She wears a light blue turtle-neck sweater and has long light brown hair.
Bertie is a small child who first appears in the episode "Fun Dungeon Face Off". He constantly keeps bumping into Jeff while going through tunnels and slides.
Page, together with creative director Nelson Boles, conceived the series at CalArts. It was further considered when Page became hired at Cartoon Network Studios. A crew of two or three polished the pilot episode; after it had been picked up, a crew of 30 to 35 writers, storyboard artists, revisionists, colorists and designers were employed. Meanwhile, animation is outsourced to South Korea through theSaerom Animation.[7]: 20 Page explained that the hardest part of production was keeping pace, especially where once an episode is completed, one must start over. He called this "exciting", but "very challenging".[7]: 21
According to writer Spencer Rothbell, the series was created with a naturalistic tone, similar to cartoons of the 1990s, combined with a more modern feeling. Given this naturalism, writers can reference works that have inspired for them or fit the genre of an episode. He ultimately felt that it was about "empowering kids and having fun".[8] Rothbell also avoids "pigeonholing" into one type of story, and that while some plots are mostly character-driven, others are "based on one idea that we think is really funny".[9] Inspiration also came from the shows Page watched as a child, which invoked more poignant and relatable situations. Despite this, elements of fantasy are allowed, and that conveying both incongruous to one another was one technique he particularly enjoyed. Boles noted that theart direction called for inconsistent character design to avoid having to fit model sheet with the universe perfectly—a result of what he dubsThe Simpsons effect.[7]: 20 Attention is also paid to background characters in order to expand variety in its plot anduniverse.[7]: 20–21
In the end of theSteven Universe/Uncle Grandpa crossover episode, "Say Uncle", UG looks over the list of characters from former and current Cartoon Network shows and saw Clarence is the last on his list.
Clarence, Jeff, Sumo, and Belson appeared in "The Grampies", the short accompanying theUncle Grandpa episode "Pizza Eve", along with other Cartoon Network characters from currently running and ended cartoons. Belson had a speaking role in that short.[10]
In July 2014, Skyler Page was fired from Cartoon Network Studios amid allegations that he hadsexually assaulted a female coworker, Emily Partridge, (now Lyle Partridge), a former storyboard revisionist onAdventure Time.[11][12][13] A Cartoon Network spokesperson confirmed that the series would continue despite his absence.[14] Spencer Rothbell later became head of story and the voice of Clarence.[15] Nelson Boles, who was previously the series creative director, served as series showrunner for the remainder of the first season. Stephen P. Neary, one of the storyboard artists for the series, took over as showrunner for the second season and onward after Boles left the series early in the second season.[16]
In June 2021, Page admitted that the allegations were true and issued a public apology.[17][18]
In September 2014, Spencer Rothbell, a writer, head of storywriting,[15] and voice actor of multiple characters forClarence, said that they had to change a scene in the episode "Neighborhood Grill", which showed two gay characters after pushback fromCartoon Network executives.[19][20][21] According to Rothbell, the original scene showed the two characters kissing on the lips, noting that "originally the guy had flowers and they kissed on the mouth." Later he lamented that the scene in the episode is "better than nothing", adding that "maybe one day the main character can be gay and it won't be a big deal." Despite this step back, there were some moves forward.
On December 4, 2014, EJ and Sue Randell were introduced as Jeff's mothers in the episode "Jeff Wins".[22][23]
On April 4, 2017, Spencer Rothbell confirmed on hisTwitter page that the series' third season would be its last as Cartoon Network did not renew the series for a fourth season,[24] which ended on June 24, 2018.
Clarence was originally previewed at the 2013San Diego Comic-Con.[25]Cartoon Network had commissioned twelve quarter-hour episodes, with the pilot episode airing after theHall of Game Awards show on February 17, 2014.[6]The pilot was nominated for an "Outstanding Short-format Animated Program" at the65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2013.[26][a]The first episode, broadcast April 14, 2014, was met with an estimated 2.3 million viewers, outperforming shows in its same demographic in the time slot by double and triple-digit percentages.Meanwhile, preliminary data identified it as the most watched series premiere for the network that year.[27]From September 7 to 30, 2020, reruns of the series aired onBoomerang.
In Canada,Clarence premiered onCartoon Network on April 14[28] and onTeletoon on September 4, but it was later moved exclusively to Cartoon Network.[29][30] The series premiered on October 6 onCartoon Network in Australia and New Zealand[31][32] and on November 3 onCartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[33] In India, the series debuted on June 1, 2015 onCartoon Network.[34] The last 13 episodes of the series aired first in Germany before airing in the United States.[35]
Critical response forClarence was mixed, with Emily Ashby ofCommon Sense Media, in a three-star review, alerted parents of "a similar brand of absurdity and crudeness" asAdventure Time—though less severe—but praised the cast as "oddly likable".[36]Nancy Basile ofAbout.com applauded the dialogue for its lengthiness, and considered the relationships between the characters to be dynamic and genuine, with some comedy thrown in.[37]Whitney Matheson ofUSA Today foundClarence to blend optimism and surreal humor in "just the right amount", and encouraged children and parents alike to watch its premiere.[38]InAnimation Magazine, Mercedes Milligan described it as "a breath of fresh suburban air" and a celebration of childhood.[7]: 20 Nivea Serrao ofTV Guide contrasted the show with most fantasy animated series.[8]Brian Lowry ofVariety called it "so quirky and idiosyncratic as to feel fresh", although it sometimes tread in "well-worn territory", but found the character designs unattractive.[39]
The series gained considerable press after featuring a gay couple in the episode "Neighborhood Grill", with coverage in various tabloid and entertainment news sites,[b] and inLGBT-oriented sites as well.[c]The scene involves two male characters greeting each other with kisses on the cheek while at a restaurant.Rothbell originally had the couple kiss on the lips after receiving flowers from the other, but this went unapproved by the network.He added that the scene was a "minor throwaway moment", albeit "better than nothing", and anticipated that "one day the main character can be gay and it won't be a big deal".[42]Joe Morgan ofGay Star News called the buildup to the scene "an old joke",[47] a notion shared by Dan Tracer ofQueerty, although he praised their portrayal "just as normal people".[48]
The series was made available onHBO Max on May 27, 2020.[52] It was later removed from the streaming service on December 6, 2022 in the US;[53] it was later brought back on the service on December 20.[54][55] The series was removed from it again on May 8, 2023.[56]
^Anderson, James; Swaney, Joe; D'Amato, Adrienne; Palaski, Courtenay (January 28, 2013)."Cartoon Network Gets in Front of the Upfront". Business Wire.Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 16, 2014.
^ab"Clarence".Television Academy. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 15, 2013.Archived from the original on October 14, 2014. RetrievedFebruary 16, 2014.
_logotype.svg)
_screenshot.jpg)
United States)
