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 focuses on the daily life of Clarence Wendle, a fun-loving and spirited 10-year-old boy, and his best friends: Jeff, who is the more intellectual type, and Sumo, who often uses drastic measures when solving problems.

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.

[2] The series was created by Page, a former storyboard artist for Adventure Time and revisionist for Secret Mountain Fort Awesome.

[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.

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.

[10] In The Amazing World of Gumball episode "The Boredom", Clarence and Mary make an appearance, alongside Uncle Grandpa and Regular Show characters.

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."

[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.

[35] Critical response for Clarence was mixed, with Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media, in a three-star review, alerted parents of "a similar brand of absurdity and crudeness" as Adventure Time—though less severe—but praised the cast as "oddly likable".

[36] 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.

[37] 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.

[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.

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 of Gay Star News called the buildup to the scene "an old joke",[47] a notion shared by Dan Tracer of Queerty, although he praised their portrayal "just as normal people".