Clarence
Created by	Skyler Page
Directed by	Martin Ansolabehere (art) Andrew Overtoom (animation) Raymie Muzquiz (supervising)
Creative director	Nelson Boles (2014–15)
Voices of	Skyler Page (2014–15) Spencer Rothbell (2015–present) Sean Giambrone Tom Kenny Roger Craig Smith Katie Crown
Theme music composer	Simon Panrucker
Opening theme	"King of the World"
Ending theme	"Good Habits", performed by Saba Lou
Composers	James L. Venable Simon Panrucker
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	51 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Skyler Page (2014–15) Curtis Lelah Jennifer Pelphrey Brian A. Miller Rob Sorcher
Producers	Keith Mack Supervising producers: Bob Boyle Yvette Kaplan (2014) Nelson Boles (2015–present)
Running time	11 minutes
Production company	Cartoon Network Studios
Original release
Network	Cartoon Network
Release	April 14, 2014 (2014-04-14) – present

Clarence is an American animated television series created by Skyler Page for Cartoon Network. The series revolves around a young boy named Clarence and his two best friends Jeff and Sumo. Page, a former storyboard artist for Adventure Time and revisionist for Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, developed the series at Cartoon Network Studios as part of their shorts development program in 2012.

The series currently has 51 episodes, with the pilot airing after the 2014 Hall of Game Awards show on February 17, 2014. The series 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. Critical reception has been positive, and its pilot was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy Award.

In July 2015, the series was renewed for a second season.

• Clarence Wendell (voiced by Skyler Page (episodes 1-32 and 35-36) and Spencer Rothbell (episodes 33-34 and 37-present)) - A spirited, daring and goofy 9-year-old^[1] boy who sees good in everything and everyone and wants to try it all. Because of his zealous spirit and hunger for adventure, he can live any kid's dream, only to find that some dreams aren't worth living. Out of the three, he is usually the most warmhearted and charismatic, which helps him get out of trouble, thus Clarence is one of the most popular kids at Aberdale Elementary School. Though chubby, Clarence is quite athletic and is quite good at basketball.
• Jeff Randell (voiced by Sean Giambrone) - Clarence's best friend known for having a cube-shaped head representing his "square" personality. He tends to be more intelligent and mature than Clarence is, but deep down, they're best friends. Not sharing Clarence's love for junk food and cartoons, he tries to explain the situation by using logic and reasoning and despite being the show's archetypal "nerd", he shows great bravery and determination when called upon. A running gag is that Jeff is prone to being socially awkward, especially around girls, but not if Clarence can help him.
• Ryan "Sumo" Sumozski (voiced by Tom Kenny) - Clarence's 2nd best friend who is the most instinctual of their group and often takes drastic and crude measures when trying to solve problems. Though he is unpredictable, Sumo is loyal to Jeff and Clarence and available when they need support. Unlike Clarence and Jeff, Sumo is quite arrogant, egotistical and sexist, but has a good heart and apologizes for his actions.

• Mary Wendell (voiced by Katie Crown) - Clarence's mother who is always there to support her son no matter the difficulty. She lives with her boyfriend Chad.
• Chad (voiced by Eric Edelstein) - Mary's boyfriend who works at various odd-jobs and acts as Clarence's father figure.
• Belson Noles (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) is the resident bully who's more likely to use verbal abuse than physical abuse. A spoiled brat from a well-off family, he has little to no friends, even his old ones, Dustin and Nathan. Clarence is the only kid who actually likes him, but the same cannot be said for Belson.
• Ms. Melanie Baker (voiced by Katie Crown) - the children's 4th grade teacher.
• Percy (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) - a short, wimpy boy who speaks in a weak voice and is friends with Clarence.
• Nathan (voiced by Skyler Page and Damien Haas) is one of Belson's friends. He's a big guy who is considered klutzy and dumb, but deep down, is very smart and emotionally sensitive.
• Dustin (voiced by Kyle Arem) - another one of Clarence's classmates and Belson's friends. He is an avid fan of martial arts and sports.
• Mr. Reese (voiced by Skyler Page and Donovan Patton) is the gruff school secretary with a voracious appetite who works in the school's detention room.
• Chelsea (voiced by Grace Kaufman) is a plucky and forthright girl who insists that she is superior to any boy, mainly Sumo.
• Breehn (voiced by Joshua Rush) - is more of Jeff's friend than Clarence's. He and Jeff are the smartest students in the class and keeps himself well grounded at time.
• Emilio (voiced by Alberto Gonzales) - is more of Sumo's friend than Clarence's. He loves gross things and teasing his older sister.
• Kimberly "Kimby" (voiced by Isabella Niems) is another one of Clarence's classmates, a shy girly girl who loves stuffed animals and is the first to get the latest gossip at school. She is also infatuated with Clarence, and has ever since "Slumber Party", when she and Clarence shared a kiss, much to the girls' surprise and Sumo's ire.
• Malessica (voiced by Ivy Bishop) is one of Kimberly's friends whom Jeff considers beautiful.
• Courtlin (voiced by Tayler Buck) is another of Kimberly's friends. She has a confident personality and isn't afraid to speak her mind.
• Joshua "Josh" Maverick (voiced by Brent Popolizio) is a psychotic and hapless teenager who doesn't like children, especially Sumo and Clarence.

At their 2011 upfront, Clarence was announced along with various other series.^[2] The show was created by Page, a former storyboard artist for Adventure Time and revisionist for Secret Mountain Fort Awesome.^[3] He is the fourth creator on the network who graduated from the California Institute of the Arts,^[4] and at age 24, he is also the youngest.^[5] As part of their shorts development program in 2012, the show was developed at Cartoon Network Studios; two others, Steven Universe and Over the Garden Wall, also came from this initiative.^[6]

Page, together with creative director Nelson Boles, conceived the show 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 the Saerom 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 show 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 the art direction called for inconsistent character design to avoid having to fit model sheet with the universe perfectly—a result of what he dubs the Simpsons effect.^[7]: 20 Attention is also paid to background characters in order to expand variety in its plot and universe.^{[7]: 20–21}

In July 2014, it was reported that Skyler Page was fired from the show and Cartoon Network Studios.^[10][11][12] A Cartoon Network spokesperson confirmed that the series will continue despite his absence.^[13] Spencer Rothbell later became head of story and the voice of Clarence^[14] and creative director Nelson Boles became supervising producer and showrunner.

Clarence was originally previewed at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.^[15] Cartoon Network had commissioned twelve quarter-hour episodes, with the pilot episode airing after the Hall of Game Awards show on February 17, 2014.^[6] The pilot was nominated for an "Outstanding Short-format Animated Program" at the 65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2013.^[16][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.^[17]

In Canada, Clarence premiered on Cartoon Network on April 14^[18] and on Teletoon on September 4, but it was later moved exclusively to Cartoon Network.^[19][20] The series premiered on October 6 on Cartoon Network in Australia and New Zealand^[21][22] and on November 3 on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[23] In India, the series debuted on June 1, 2015 on Cartoon Network.^[24]

Critical reception has been positive. In a three-star review, Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media alerted parents of "a similar brand of absurdity and crudeness" as Adventure Time—though less severe—but praised the cast as "oddly likable".^[25] Nancy Basile of About.com applauded the dialogue for its lengthiness, and considered the relationships between the characters to be dynamic and genuine, with some comedy thrown in.^[26] Whitney Matheson of USA Today found Clarence to blend optimism and surreal humor in "just the right amount", and encouraged children and parents alike to watch its premiere.^[27] In Animation Magazine, Mercedes Milligan described it as "a breath of fresh suburban air" and a celebration of childhood.^[7]: 20 Nivea Serrao of TV Guide contrasted the show with most fantasy animated series.^[8] Brian Lowry of Variety called it "so quirky and idiosyncratic as to feel fresh", although it sometimes tread in "well-worn territory", but found the character designs unattractive.^[28]

The show gained considerable press after featuring a gay couple in the episode "Neighborhood Grill", with coverage in various tabloid and entertainment news sites,^[b] and in LGBT-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".^[32] Joe Morgan of Gay Star News called the buildup to the scene "an old joke",^[37] a notion shared by Dan Tracer of Queerty, although he praised their portrayal "just as normal people".^[38]

• Official website
• Clarence at IMDb
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